Dark Dreams 2: Undying
by Rhea Hiryuu
Summary: SERIES DISCONTINUED Prince x OC, No matter how many times you ask, the answer is no. How can I love you when I don't have the ability? I'm not whole, Prince, and I don't know that I ever will be. It was a mistake to let it get this far, so stop asking me to marry you.
1. Hollow

(Prince/OC), No matter how many times you ask, the answer is no. How can I love you when I don't have the ability? I'm not whole, Prince, and I don't know that I ever will be. It was a mistake to let it get this far, so stop asking me to marry you.

IMPORTANT NOTE!!!

This is a sequel, a SEQUEL! Note DARK DREAMS _2_! Do NOT read this chapter and then review asking me what the heck is going on, because it's really annoying when that happens and I will reserve the right to laugh boldly in your face…and then hide under my bed like a little girl while sucking my thumb and begging you not to hurt me.

Right. So, those of you who art my faithful reviewers from the first story, I give thee credit!

Zanaril, Sanne-chan, Kiriona, DarkxPrince, & General-Tommy

I LOVE YOU ALL!!! (Hugs) And dedicate this ficky to you guys! I hope you like!

(0)

Lily was sixteen when it started to hurt  
in and out of reach in a silent alert  
Lily was sixteen when the sun in her heart stopped to shine

mirror-balls and dreams hide the tears in her eyes  
starlet of the scene and narcotic inside  
Lily was sixteen when her heart got afraid of the night

walk undying - in the rain  
walk undying - over again  
all your sorrow is what I will take: undying

Monday was the day when she left with a smile  
took the urban train for her terminal ride  
Monday was the day when the city swallowed her child

trying to believe and to never arrive  
flowers on the track mark the end of her strife  
Monday was the day when sweet Lily followed the night

walk undying - in the rain  
walk undying - over again  
all your sorrow is what I will take... undying

("Undying" by Flowing Tears)

(0)

**The sensation was of flying for a few moments, perhaps only a second, it was hard to tell. Time simply seemed to stop existing at that moment, I was suspended in perpetual motion, no ground beneath my feet.**

**And then gravity caught up, and time seemed to zip forward. I was falling, falling, I watched the sky grow darker, the roaring of the sea coupled with the roaring of wind in my ears, my hair whipped through the air, and jagged rocks were coming up to meet me. **

**I looked death in the face before and was afraid, not of death itself, but of the bringer. But this time as I watched those rocks, as I saw the edge of the sea, all I could feel was peace. I had felt terror, fear, and dread in bulk long before now. But those emotions had all been stripped away from me. Here was death, calling me into its embrace, like a soothing father awaiting its daughter after so long. A father I never had, that paternal love I never felt. **

**I opened my arms wide to except it, a smile upon my face, tears falling from my eyes. And death came. As I hit those rocks, death came to me, and took me away. For the first time, I felt peace, peace. Except… **

**A familiar shape stood over the edge, calling my name. It fell to its knees, it's grief was so much I could taste it, so bitter it made my stomach churn. The figure writhed in pain, twisting and turning upon the edge of the cliff. Until finally, as if coming to a decision, the figure hesitated at that edge, and then it, too, fell. It fell, fell, and fell. Arms open wide, it came down after me. **

**As it, too, hit the rocks, I heard its voice, _his_ voice, "Life without you…is completely meaningless."**

XD

I awoke with a start, my eyes shooting open, and I sat up on my straw bed, gasping. _No_, I though, _No, no, no!_

I had had this dream, no, this _vision_ before. Once, when I had first come into this power, when I had first become the Empress of Time. But then, the ending hadn't been included, and then, like now, I didn't feel any sort of regret, dread, or fear at seeing my own death.

It was watching the Prince of Persia come after me that made me jerk awake like this, which pulled at my heart, filling me with fear.

As well as that familiar, gnawing sense of guilt at the fact that a secret, honest part of me found solace in seeing my own death, and knowing it was coming soon enough to anticipate.

Guilty, yes, I felt guilty. Guilty about my own wish to die, about the fact that, in spite of everything that had happened, in spite of my own self-declarations, of my resolve to live, not just live, but _live_, I still, desperately, wanted, to, die.

It was like a hunger that was eating away at me from the inside, a hollowing sensation that was getting harder and harder to ignore, to push away. In the long silences of our journey across the seas, it was making itself known more and more, and the only thing that could keep it at bay was reading, and drinking.

I'd taken to drinking, yes. I didn't use to like alcohol of any sort, but I eventually became desperate, and decided to join the prince in his evening sips. Only, I didn't take sips. I drank just enough so that the hallow feeling would go away, and it didn't require much at first, but as my tolerance grew, so did the amount of drink it took before it would disappear.

I didn't drink enough to get _drunk_, no, I didn't need to be stone dead drunk, and I didn't want to be. Just enough to feel a bit giddy and let a few of my inhibitions go. Still, I knew I was drinking too much, I was doing it too often. Not so much, but it was a daily thing now, and it was enough that the prince was noticing, and he was becoming concerned.

A few times I had allowed _him_ to fill that hole, and he did so gladly and eagerly. But these times I made sure were few and far-between, I couldn't allow them to be any more, it would be too dangerous, no matter how much I wanted to let myself drown in him, to OD on the narcotic that he was. If I could die from Over-Dosing on the Prince of Persia, I probably would. But if either of us died from that sort of thing, it'd be him, so that wouldn't work very well.

I didn't want _him_ to die.

The prince grunted and stirred next to me. An irritated arm hooked around my middle and pulled me back onto the straw bed, where I, once again, became the prince's overgrown teddy bear.

We may not have sex very often, but we did sleep in the same bed every night. Why? Because outside of the prince's arms, I had nightmares. But inside…the only peaceful dreams to ever come my way. Ever.

Use to, the prince would sneak over to my bed after I'd gone to sleep, and wrap his arms around me so that my nightmares turned into actual dreams. And then in the mornings, he would wake before I did, and would leave. Moving me just enough so that I wouldn't fall back into dreams which would undoubtedly turn into nightmares, but not enough that I was truly awake yet. But we'd decided to shove all the pretense aside, and had brought the two beds together so that there would be more room for the both of us.

But it wasn't just me who had nightmares, and whose nightmares were chased away by this.

One night the prince had decided to go to bed early, but I had stayed up a bit later to look at the stars. When I came down, I discovered he was still having nightmares of his own, nightmares of the Dahaka, of being chased, and watching his death draw nearer second by second. I went to him, and he held on to me like a security blanket, so tightly you might have thought he was trying to turn us into a single entity. I thought about waking him, but he relaxed swiftly enough, back into his own peaceful dreams, and I fell asleep in his arms as I had been doing for a while.

The prince snuggled his face into the crook of my neck, not yet awake, but aware enough to be possessive.

I think I knew what it was that kept us from being able to stop this whole thing, aside from the nightly sleeping in each others arms, which happened even if we were angry with each other and had been arguing from sun up till sun down. Neither of us could stand the thought of allowing our nightmares to push in anymore, and we would swallow our pride of only to chase them away. But aside from that, we were alone. Completely alone on this long journey, and it was very easy to feel as though we would never reach Babylon, as though the rest of the world existed only as a range of sparse islands, the rest of it ocean and nothing more.

Then, suddenly, I felt a jerk which woke me from the doze I was falling back into. Sounds that broke the monotony of the ocean waves and blowing winds reached my ears, and I stood up, this time not allowing the prince to draw me back down onto the bed, something which woke him up as I shoved his arm away and shook him.

I'd since changed my outfit up a bit, rather than being up to my thighs, my boots were now to my knees, with gold knee-guards which had violet jewels in the center for decoration, and a jewel on either side of the ankle as well. The loin cloth I wore was shorter, but spread around more to cover, and had elaborate golden designs with a belt made of gold links with red jewels, similar to the diamond shape of the knee guards. My top was roughly the same, though a bit more elaborately designed, with a violet jewel and gold lining. It had the same gold designs of my loin cloth, and I wore a black choker with a gold ring that circled the eye-shaped tattoo on my chest and hooked onto the tub top in an interesting fashion. I had decided to wear gloves, both of them fingerless for easy movement, and both of them black. But the one on my left arm went all the way up to my shoulder while the one on my right stayed on my wrist to show off the black tattoo designs that were there. This was mainly to cover up the gashes across each wrist where my double-edged swords slipped out of, so that when we arrived in Babylon, it wouldn't be so obvious they were _inside my skin_.

As nights were cold, I usually kept everything but my boots on, so they were the only things I needed to worry about.

"What's going on?" The prince asked blearily, sitting up.

"Something." I answered, and he followed me out onto the deck.

The cool morning breeze whipped my loose hair around so that it got into my face, and I had to push it back in order to see what it was that was coming near us.

A ship, a big one made of both wood and metal. I say it was big, it was _enormous_, if we got too close, our little bath toy was going to break into pieces, we had to change course to get away, something that the two of us realized at the same moment.

We adjusted our course, and, from what we could tell at the time, we would easily pass this ship, but as we watched, we realized that the ship had changed its own direction ever-so-slightly to compensate. They _wanted_ to intercept us, and as they didn't appear to be relying on sails of any sort, they had a bit more room to work with, even if they were too big to be very easily maneuverable.

We continued to alter our course, but the wind stopped allowing that, and though we tried going the other way, the ship was gaining, and fast, and would be upon us in a matter of minutes. We didn't have time to turn the ship around, only to wait and see what this one could possibly want from us.

We didn't notice the net until too late, and the next thing we knew, we were being lifted into the air like some overgrown fish, trapped, helpless to do anything but wait.

The prince ran back down below deck and had retrieved the water sword as well as his boots, he hadn't had time to get his leather breastplate on, though he had thought to put the medallion on his belt instead.

"So sorry about that!" Shouted one of the crewmen, who were now so far down below us that we could hardly see anyone on this ship's deck very clearly, "You looked lost! Thought we might offer you a hand!" He called.

I could tell by the laughter this excited from the other crew members that he was being funny.

"Thanks, but we're fine on our own, if you could just let us down, we'll be on our way." I called back, though I knew that wasn't going to work.

"Afraid we can't do that hon! See, you're little boat's been sailing it's marry way through our territory, a very bad idea. I'm sad to say that from now until we hit the slave market, you and anyone else on your ship are our prisoners." He told me as the boat was slowly lowered over the deck, not so that it touched down, but enough that we didn't have to call so loudly to be heard or to hear each other, or see each other. And what I saw was _not_ promising. Fifty or so men on the deck alone, not counting those who were manning the steam engines or whatever else that kept this ship going.

I gave the prince a look that told him not to interrupt, like he wanted to, and he closed his mouth and decided to trust me. "It's just the two of us up here, but if I were you, I would just let us go. I, for one, would be more trouble than I'd be worth." I told him.

"I'm afraid that, to be more trouble than you're worth, you would have to kill half the crew members. I don't know that there's a limit to the amount of gold we could get with _you_, Gorgeous." He responded.

"I could give you a list of reasons why you don't want to make an enemy out of me, much less have me as your prisoner. Or my companion for that matter. We're not going down without a fight, I'm afraid." I said.

"Now, now, little lady. I'd rather not have anything unpleasant happen to that pretty face of yours. Just be a good girl and you'll be real comfortable, I promise you that." He said.

I could feel the prince's temper rising, but at a look from me, he held his tongue and stepped back just slightly so that he wouldn't be tempted to rush in. This was _not_ a good situation to find ourselves, and though I had very little in the way of people skills, I knew how to act the part well enough. Perhaps if I felt more threatened, I'd have been a bit more reckless and wouldn't be able to keep my smooth-talk routine going for this long. As strong as the prince and I were, I knew very well we couldn't take on a ship of around fifty men at once. Not unless I transformed, and even then. I could try frightening them into letting us go by doing just that, but I wasn't sure just how far my acting skills could go, and as much as I would like a good fight, these were _people_, not sand creatures, and I'd had enough of human bloodshed in my life not to be eager for more of it.

"And if we resist?" I asked.

He grinned toothily up at me, "I'd just rather it not come to that." He told me.

"I see. And, out of curiosity, whether or not we resisted, where, exactly, were you planning on selling us?" I asked.

"Where else? In the greatest city on earth. I imagine the King of Babylon would be interested in having an exotic thing like you serving his table." He answered.

"I see, could you give us a moment, my companion and I would like to review our options." I said.

"Take your time, little lady. You're not going anywhere soon. You can stay up there as long as you like, at least until we get close to Babylon." He told me.

"Thank you. That's very courteous." I said, and I moved back from the edge so the prince and I could disappear on deck. "It would be faster if we let them take us." I mused, "Their boat doesn't rely on wind, it's steam powered from the looks of it."

"I don't quite understand how that works, but I'm not about to let any one of them lay a hand on you." The prince said, growling as he took my wrist in a slightly protective gesture. "If I tell them who I am,"

"They'll do one of two things." I said, cutting him off, "They'll laugh in your face, or they'll sell you to your enemy country for a very high price as a prisoner for ransom. _I_ couldn't keep a low profile to save my life, but _you_ had best do so yourself. I'm just glad you let me handle it so far."

"I don't see why we even have to keep up a charade. We could take them all, it would be easy." He said, giving his sword a slight jerk.

"Not easy. We've never fought so many at one time. If they came at us three at once, then we might be able to manage, and these aren't sand monsters, however much of a monster they are, they're still human." I told him, "And I've seen enough humans dead in my lifetime…believe it or not, I don't want to be responsible for more. Directly, or indirectly, it would still be my fault." I said before he could bring up the others.

His face fell into a look of understanding, and he sighed heavily. "What do you want to do?" He asked, relenting.

"I'll tell them that we've decided we'd rather live and be slaves than die in the fight, and so long as they don't touch me, I won't give them any trouble, and neither will you." I answered.

"And if they _do_ touch you?" He asked, putting his hands on my shoulders and gripping them tightly.

"Plan B." I answered, showing him the ring on my finger. "I take this off, give them the 'I'm the Empress of Time' bit, and if they decide to fight…well, it won't be my fault if they have nightmares for the rest of their lives." I said.

"Kagero?" He murmured, and I nodded.

"As a last resort." I said. "He's one of the few that prefers fear and terror to gruesome death, and, sad to say, that sometimes seems worse." I told him.

"Alright. We'll do this your way, for now." He said with a sigh.

"Let's hope we can take them up on their offer and stay here until Babylon is near." I said, and then I went back over to the rail.

Most of the men had gone back to their work, but the one I had been talking to, the first mate, I guessed, was sitting on a barrel, apparently waiting to see if I would come back. He smiled up at me, taking the pipe he had out of his mouth and calling up, so that attention was drawn back on me, "Made yourself a decision?"

"Yes. We've decided we'd rather be sold into slavery than fight a loosing battle." I answered.

"Ah, a good sturdy mind in that pretty head, that's always a bonus." He said, grinning.

"We won't make any trouble so long as both me and my companion are treated with the courtesy you've already shown thus far. Also, I would like to take you up on your offer, and stay on this ship until Babylon draws near. I'm very fond of it, you see, and would like to stay with it for as long as possible. I hope you don't mind." I said, but I could tell that this notion wasn't going over too well. A restless, unhappy air stole over the men as the first mate sat there, puffing on his pipe, and considering this.

"Make you a deal." He said to me, "As it's been a good long time before any of this crew has seen a woman, and longer still one as lovely as you, I can't just let you hide away in your ship for the entire way. If you'll come out every night, lit some torches up there so we can see your pretty face, you can stay up there so long as you don't try anything foolish." He said, and the men seemed to be appeased by this idea.

I smiled, though what I really wanted to do was curse him till he went red in the face, and said, "Well it's not every day a girl finds so many men at once that appreciates her. Very well, I'll do it. Thank you for your courtesy." I said, and moved away from the deck and headed for the cabin.

The prince went with me, and only when we were down inside the boat did he let out the roar of outrage he'd been holding back. "I can't believe you agreed to that!!!" He exclaimed.

"I'd rather they _look_ at me than _touch_ me, Prince." I told him, though I was _not_ happy about this either.

"But they _look_ at you like you're a piece of meat!" He exclaimed, grabbing at his hair and pulling on it in his rage. "When we get to Babylon, I'm going to have every last one of them _hanged_ for this!"

"I don't like this either, but I think you're overacting. That could have gone _much_ worse. And if all I have to do is stand out there and smile for a few minutes while they get drunk and make obscene comments about what they'd like to do to me, I'll deal with it. I don't like it any more than you do, in fact, I reserve the right to like it even _less_, but if we kill them all we're going to have one heck of a time getting our ship on course. They're probably following a path that we don't know, _and_ we'll get to Babylon faster this way, as I've said before." I told him.

"I know, I _know_. I just…I just…" He grabbed me and pulled me into a tight embrace, "I just can't stand the thought of other men so much as _looking_ at you. Because they're right, d(beep)it, you _are_ beautiful."

"I'm _exotic_." I told him, wrapping my arms around and hugging him once before pulling back, "They've never seen a woman like me before. My face is different, my coloring is different, and the tattoos are, safe to say, a nice touch. I'm also not in a very modest outfit." I said, but he shook his head.

"Trust me, you're wearing more than _some_ women I've seen. A lot more, actually." He sighed and ran his fingers through his hair, "I half wish you _weren't_ so beautiful, then maybe they wouldn't care for you that much."

"Like I said, I'm _not_ beautiful, I'm _exotic_. I just look beautiful to you and them because I'm so different." I told him.

"You're beautiful _because_ you're exotic, happy?" He said, as though relenting, "The point is I'm afraid they may not be satisfied with just looking at you." He told me.

"Then I'll sing them a song, and maybe my bad vocals will drive them away." I said, giving him a wry smile, "Don't worry about me. I'm a big girl, I can handle anything they dish out."

"I just don't like it, okay? I'd much rather you take control of the ship with your demons and kill off half the crew than to just sit here and let them _look_ at you every night." He said, grinding his teeth and shifting in restless agitation.

"Prince," I said, "Don't get your hair in a knot over this. They get to _look_ at me, and that's it. Trust me, you're the only man that ever has, and, likely, ever will, touch me without the little panic voice in my head making me to kick you in the groin for it." I took him by the back of the head, my fingers in his hair, and brought him down so I could kiss him full on the mouth, just to prove my point.

He was surprised at first, but he grasped me in his arms and kissed back passionately. My arms snaked around his neck and I stood on my tip-toes to better reach. When we broke apart he nibbled a bit on my ear, and then murmured into it, "If that's true, then why won't you marry me?" he asked, kissing my neck and trailing down along my shoulder.

"Because you're the Heir Apparent to the throne of Babylon. You have a duty to your crown and a duty to your people. You cannot have an outsider like me, who knows nothing about diplomacy or anything else of the sort as your wife." I told him.

"You handled those men on the ship very well, you're getting better at controlling your temper." He told me.

"That's only because they're not worthy of my temper." I said, and he chuckled.

"Still, you learn swiftly, you could learn—"

"Prince, are we going to keep talking about something we've already discussed over a hundred times, or are we going to make out until our brains bubble and fizz right out of our ears?" I aside, gaining myself a pair of rather wide, slightly blank eyes.

"Uh…The bubbly fizzy thing of course." He said in a rather dazed tone, by now knowing _exactly_ what I meant by 'make out'.

"Good boy." I said, shoving him back on the straw bed and then tackling him like a wild animal.

I didn't do this often, remember, but the thing was that I wanted to be completely sober when I went out that night to let the men look at me, so that I wouldn't have any inhibitions loose enough to create a massacre after a single comment about my boobs. And now that the excitement of being caught was over…there was that hole again, the hole that I couldn't stand, and I knew I needed to fill up. And also, I needed to keep the prince from doing anything rash, something I, honestly, only thought about afterwards, but which came as a very convenient bonus as well. He would be more relaxed now about letting me parade on deck where the other men could see me, knowing that only _he_ got to see everything, knowing that only _he_ got to touch me, to make love to me, if only sparingly.

Did I love the prince though? Honestly love him?

To be truthful, I asked myself that question every time we came together like this, and I had yet to find the answer.

XD

Rhea: So, how was it? A good start? A bad start?

Prince: . Bubbly fizzy…

Kaida: --' You are so weak.

Kioko: But doesn't it give you a sense of power to know that you can turn him into a zombie with only two words?

Kaida: Uh, NO!

Kioko: Freak.

Rhea: Which words? "Bubbly Fizzy" or "Make Out"?

Kioko: Either or.

Rhea: Lol! XD

Kaida: Who's doing the FAQ?

Rhea: I'll do it.

Kaida: What? The authoress is actually doing something other than sit on her butt and make our lives misurable!? GASP!!!

Rhea: Oh shut up.

Q: Is Kaida always going to be so EMO?

A: Maybe, we'll have to wait and see. Characters _do_ change after all!

Kaida: I am _not_ EMO!!!

Kioko: Then what's with the black eyeliner?

Kaida: THOSE ARE THE TATTOOS!!!

Kioko: Riiiiiiiight.

Q: Is the Dark Prince gonna make an appearance?

A: What, you have to ask? HECK YEAH!!! Though how much of a part he's going to play in the story I'm still trying to work out. So far it's not very big from what I've got planned up here in my brain, but I'm gonna work on fixing this.

Q: How come those pirate dudes are so nice to Kaida?

Kaida: You call that being 'nice'!? No no no no, _nice_ would have been letting us _go_!

Q: Okay, then how come they were so polite and let her stay on the ship with the Prince and stuff?

A: Because they—

Kaida: Know better than to make me mad.

A: ARE YOU DOING THE FAQ OR AM I DOING IT!?

Kaida: Fine, go ahead.

A: Because at least _some_ of their mothers' teaching got through their thick skulls. And Kaida seems kind of like an exotic plant to them and they don't want to aggravate her too much.

Prince: (Glowering) Or an exotic piece of _meat_.

Q: Why are they even on that ship in the first place?

Kaida: Because the authoress hates us.

A: I reiterate, I'M THE ONE DOING THE FAQ, BACK OFF!!! And it's because I wanted something to happen to them before getting to Babylon because otherwise it'd just be boring.

Q: The first chapter sucked, will it get better?

Kaida: Nope, this is about how it's gonna be for here on out.

A: YES IT WILL GET BETTER AND STOP ANSWERING THE QUESTIONS!!!

Kioko: I think that's about all for now.

Rhea: GAAAAAAH!!! NOT YOU TOO!!! I'M THE ONE WHO SAYS WHEN THAT'S IT!!! _I'M_ THE AUTHORESS!!!

Kioko: You forget the amount of control you keep allowing your characters, Rhea. You control the story and the plotline, but they tend to make their own decisions way too often.

Rhea: Crap, she's right…

Kaida: So I can decide to have the entire ship slaughtered!?

Rhea: NO!

Prince: (whispers) Can I put in a request for more bubbly fizzy stuff?

Rhea: (Smiles evilly) Heheheheheheheheheheh.

Kaida!.! WHAT DID YOU JUST TELL HER!?

Prince: Nothing! Nothing!!!

Rhea: MUAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!

Kioko: (_Sighs_) See you in the next chapter. Read and review and all that crap.


	2. Fill Me Up Inside

A/N: The song is Undying by Flowing Tears, which is what this fanfic was named after because I think it really seems to apply to Kaida. If you want to learn more about Flowing Tears, go to their website! http://www.flowingtears.de/

You can't download Undying, but you _can_ download Razorbliss and listen to samples of Merlin (favorite song), Serpentine, and The Marching Sane.

XP

The sun had gone down a quarter of an hour before I got called out of the cabin. I made the prince stay below the deck and lit the ship's torches myself. The moment I leaned got close enough to the rail that the men could see me, cat calls and wolf whistles sprouted up, not that I was surprised. I tried hard not to roll my eyes, but it was very difficult, and instead plastered a smile on my face, hoping it was still too dark to see how fake it was. "Well, here I am, how long do I need to stand here?" I asked, leaning over the rail and finding the first mate in the crowd, who was in the company of a richly dressed man whom I assumed was the captain. He grinned up at me and said something to the first mate that I couldn't hear, and the first mate then turned to me.

"Long enough, ma'am!" he called above the racket.

"Dance for us!" One of the men shouted, and a murmur of agreement sounded throughout the deck.

My smile faltered, "I can't dance." I told them, "No, seriously, me dancing looks like someone stuck a black tub-top on a giant flesh-colored worm and gave it a red wig. I _can't dance_." I said, and, to my surprise, a roar of laughter followed this pronouncement.

"I'm sure you're not that bad!" Called the first mate, "Go ahead, we'll be the judge of whether or not you can dance."

"I've been judged before, and the city sent me an official order telling me that, in order to preserve the vision of the public at large and to lessen the amount of bleeding eyes, I was prohibited from moving my body in any way that could be considered a form of dance ever again." I assured him. This, of course, wasn't true, but the men seemed to find this sort of humor downright gut wrenching. Perhaps this wouldn't be so bad after all.

"Sing for us then!" A man shouted.

"For the sake of preserving your _hearing_, I suggest you rethink that request. Last time I attempted to sing in front of an audience, the children started crying." I said.

"We'll risk it! Sing us something new, something from your land, wherever that may be!" The captain called, and the crew's voices died down a bit so that I could hear him better.

"Alright, but it's your ears." I said. As silence swept over the crew, broken only by soft whisperings. I closed my eyes and thought about what to sing. I doubted whether I was any good, I had only myself to sing to, but I had always enjoyed it, whether I could sing or not. I had a deep voice, and I couldn't sing very high notes, so if it was a high song, I always sang it an octave lower. There was one song in particular by Flowing Tears that I enjoyed immensely, because I felt the song in my gut. That was my life, that was me, I sang to myself all the time.

I took a deep breath, and let my voice carry across the deck. Pretending I wasn't here, pretending it wasn't me, pretending that I was back in my room, and the only ones I had for an audience were the others, whose opinions I couldn't care less about if I tried, knowing they would tell me I sucked whether I did or not.

_Lilly was sixteen when it started to hurt _

_In and out of reach in a silent alert _

_Lilly was sixteen when the sun in her heart stopped to shine. _

_Mirror balls and dreams light the tears in her eyes _

_Starlit off the scene and narcotic inside _

_Lilly was sixteen when her heart got afraid of the night _

_Walk undying, in the rain _

_Walk undying, over again _

_All your sorrow, is what I will take _

_Undying. _

_Monday was the day when she left with a smile _

_Took the urban train for her terminal ride _

_Monday was the day when the city swallowed her child _

_Trying to believe and to never arrive _

_Flowers off the track, mark the end of her strife _

_Monday was the day when sweet Lilly followed the night. _

_Walk undying, in the rain _

_Walk undying, over again _

_All your sorrow, is what I will take _

_Undying. _

When I was finished, there was a silence, and as my eyes swept over the crowd, not one man seemed to have anything rude to say to me anymore. Perhaps it was that the song was so new, so strange, perhaps it was the words themselves, the lyrics which cut into their souls.

And perhaps it was the way I sang it, was I so obvious? Could they see it in my voice, the hollowness, the pain, my sunless heart which could only be filled with drug-like substances? Or was it so horrible, they couldn't believe they'd let me do this?

And then, the horse, shaking voice of the captain cried out, "Another!"

Emotion was a narcotic, feeling a suffering in someone else was like taking one pain and using it to lessen another. Why did I only listen to songs that had such darkness in them? Because it eased the darkness inside of me. If you are depressed, you want to listen to depressing songs. If you are angry, you want to listen to angry songs. It was therapy, like acupuncture, it felt as though simply listening to this music was paramount to clearing out your own system of that feeling. Like just about everything, it was a temporary fix, but it was a fix, and a fix that people wanted.

I sang _Justine_, _Breach_, and _The Marching Sane_ before retiring back to the cabin. No one called me back, the captain had asked for another again, but didn't argue when I said I'd had enough. No one had. Had I cut them with these gothic songs? I doubted it would last, it was simply the newness, the uniqueness of it that made my songs such a novelty.

"Did you make up those songs?" The prince asked with an oddly dark look in his eye.

"No, but I listened to them and sang along to them all the time. In my world, we have the ability to record sounds and play it back, and so I could listen to a song like that over and over again with only a little machine box that played it for me. That's how I know them so well." I answered. "You seem like you were effected the same way they were." I said, frowning at him slightly.

The prince shook his head and drew me into his arms, "Because I could hear more than the words in your voice, and I'll bet you anything they could too." He said, stroking my hair as though I were a child that needed to be soothed.

"Really? And what's that?" I asked, pulling back and waving his hand away, slightly irritated that he was acting like this. "What could you hear?"

He took my face into his hands and turned it up so that I had to look him in the eyes, "That in spite of how much I love you, in spite of how much I want to give you, how much I'm trying to offer you, how much I want to take your suffering and make it my own just so _you_ could be happy…you still want to die."

XD

_"He's not doing you any favors."_ Monigan murmured in my mind's ear. _"You know it's no use, you know you can't be his wife, and, if you think about it, you don't want to be. You couldn't handle the responsibility of an entire country. How could you? You already have **us** to deal with, **and** whatever responsibilities that come with being the Empress of Time, and now he wants to make you queen of Babylon? He's just adding on to your load! As soon as we get to the city, get away from him as soon as you can. I know what you promised him, but you also told him several times it was only as a companion, as a friend. Well, you've screwed that up quite magnificently. Just for one night, eh? Just how long as this 'one night' going to go on for I wonder?"_

**"Don't listen to _her_ my dear,"** Kagero said silkily, **"She doesn't know what she's talking about. Think about the power you would have if you became Queen of Babylon? They say it's the greatest city on earth, you could build up an army of sand demons to fight for you, and no one would be able to exist! You could conquer the world if you so wished, or simply turn your city into a mighty empire."**

**"It's not just about the power!"** Exclaimed Kukarkin, **"Kaida, you love the prince, you do, you just don't recognize it yet. And, really, even if you didn't, why think about love? He stops your nightmares, he's _madly_ in love with you, he's hot, he's sexy, and he's a _god_ in bed. What more could you _possibly_ ask for?!"**

_"None of you have any taste in men! Trust me, Kaida,"_ Kroich said, _"You could do **much** better than **him**."_

**"Stow it, Kroich, you don't know anything about what a girl wants. If you did, maybe you'd realize that _you're_ not it!"** Kukarkin snapped at him.

_"You all seem of the opinion that Kaida needs a man to begin with."_ Monigan sneered, _"Well, you **don't**, he's not going to do you any good, Kaida, and you know it. Don't keep this going longer than it has to. It has to stop before you set foot on Babylon. I may have my own reasons for saying this, but you know I'm right. And when you do leave, you can always come back, and come back you should, but with someone **else** with you. And you know very well who I'm talking about."_

**"Not that Farah chick! No way!!! She can't have our prince, she's not good enough for him!"** Kukarkin argued.

**"And the prince is not good enough for Kaida, but he _is_ a prince, his only redeeming factor in my opinion."** Kagero said smoothly.

**"Shut up, you! It's not about the power!!! Kaida tell the prince you'll marry him! Just do it!!!"** Kukarkin exclaimed.

**"Yes, do it! Become the Queen of Babylon!"** Kagero agreed.

_"She cannot!"_ Monigan hissed, _"Kaida you know better! You're smarter than to listen to them, so **don't listen to them**!!!"_

I'd had enough, "ALL OF YOU _SHUT UP_!!!" I yelled.

The prince gave a start, and hit his head on one of the shelves. "Sorry!" I exclaimed, cringing and scrambling over to make sure he wasn't bleeding.

"Owe…" He grumbled, "What was _that_ about?" He asked.

"Sorry." I repeated, "It's _them_." I sighed, "They've been getting restless, so I've let them out of the Manor, and into my head. I use to let them run around outside and give them things to do to calm them down, but since I can't trust them not to go have 'fun' with the sailors, I'm stuck with letting them parade around in my mind."

**"Take him! Throw him on the bed again and dominate him! He _loves_ it! He's like putty in your hands!"** Kukarkin exclaimed.

"_No_!!" I exclaimed, putting my fingers to my temples and trying to drown her out.

"What is it this time?" He asked.

"It's Kukarkin so I'll give you three guesses." I told him.

"_Oh_." He didn't ask anymore, I doubted he even _wanted_ to know.

_"I love them, I love them not, I love them, I love them…awwwww."_ Aggle moaned, and she began sniffling.

**"I have to pee!"** Sullian moaned.

_"NOT ON ME YOU DOLT!!!"_ Kroich cried.

It was a mixed blessing when Wemlast began to sing a lullaby and they all fell silent, including Monigan and Kagero. But her lullaby, though I couldn't understand the words, was full of a sinister beauty that sent chills up my spine, and made me feel as though she were using her powers on _me_. I knew she could, if only temporary, and I was in control now, I was in control…but…She was another. She, Monigan, and Kagero were all the most powerful next to Sacrosanct. I did prefer her to Kagero, but that was only because she was the least active of the three, and I still preferred Monigan over her.

Wemlast was a child, or rather, she _looked_ like a child. A child with coal black skin who dressed in black-reds, with spiky red hair and an iron mask over her face that showed only the red slits that were her eyes. She made dolls, and she had a very, _very_ large number, many of which she gave to Gamor, who loved them, and wasn't intelligent enough to realize what they really were and where they came from.

The collection of dolls that she had…were humans. Or at least, they had been at one time. It's a large collection, and they're all still alive in her rooms. Moaning and sobbing, knowing that they'll never die, unable to move, unable to escape. But there was never anything I could do for them. There wasn't then, and there isn't now. I couldn't even kill them, even if I forced Wemlast to let them go. They're stuck like that, forever.

Or, at least, until _I_ die.

"What's wrong?" Asked the prince.

"N-nothing." I answered, though my voice shook and I wouldn't look him in the eye. Wemlast was still singing, and I wasn't sure why.

"Kaida?" He pressed, touching my shoulder.

"It's nothing," I said, shrugging it off and going back to sitting on the bed.

But suddenly I lost all feeling in my left arm, and it hung down, useless at my side. I grabbed it and stared at it in horror. It had turned into smooth, polished wood the color of my skin. Jointed at the elbow, shoulder, wrist, and at each finger, even my thumb. Every detail accounted for, except that it was the arm of a doll.

I hugged the arm to my chest and hid it from the prince, who was trying to see, and murmured to myself, "Stop it, stop it Wemlast, just stop it." But I was shaking too much to put power behind this order, and she continued to sing.

It had been a long time since she'd done this, but I remembered those few times when she had. Each time stood out vividly. I would become a full doll, and she would hold me and play with me like her other dolls, and each time I felt I was doomed to the same fate as her others. But her power could never fully work on me, and eventually I would always change back, sometimes she would just do it to parts of me, like my arm, for the sole purpose of tasting my fear, my panic.

I fought to regain control of myself and I said in a much stronger voice, "Stop it, Wemlast." This time her voice faltered, but after a moment, she went on.

**_"Enough."_** Sacrosanct growled. And Wemlast immediately stopped singing. I could sense relief from several others, but none of them seemed keen on doing anything that might irritate Sacrosanct.

_Thank you._ I thought to Sacrosanct.

**_"You're welcome."_** She responded simply before fading into silence.

My arm was back to normal, and I breathed a sigh of relief, and finally allowed the prince to turn me around and demand to know what had happened.

"Nothing to worry about." I assured him, "No, really. It's been a while, but…" I rubbed my arm and winced as the pins and needles started, "They can't really do anything permanent to me, so it's fine."

"Could you at least tell me what was happening _then_? Your arm…"

"I'd rather you not know." I told him. He looked like he wanted to insist, but he held back, and nodded. I smiled, "Thanks, I appreciate it." I said before settling back on the bed and wait until I felt I could get away with tossing them all back into the Manor. I would just have to stick it out. "Don't talk to me for a while, it'll just make this harder." I said, and I began humming to myself in order to block out the voices that were trying to convince me of this, that, and the other.

Monigan wasn't telling me anything new, the fact was that my thoughts were always drifting to how I was going to get the prince and I out of this little mess that I'd made, and every single solution began with an 'F' and ended with a certain bow-wielding princess of India.

But every time I thought about it, a heavy weight of guilt settled inside of me. They would have been so perfect for each other…if it wasn't for _me_. If I hadn't come around, if I hadn't been dropped in here, the prince would have found Farah, and his old feelings for her would spark and flame once again. And not only had I somehow managed to steal his heart, _without even trying_, I was also having sex with him, and I felt so sick with guilt I sometimes felt it would be worth it to lean over the edge of the boat and vomit on top of one of the sailors. This might not have been such a mess if I had only resisted that first night, if I had only let logic fight its way through desire to tell me that, just because we _said_ it would be 'for tonight', that wasn't going to be what would happen.

I'd been an idiot, a complete and utter _fool_. _How_ could I have let this happen? How could I have let it come so far? I wasn't just being stupid either, I was being _selfish_. I _wanted_ him, it felt so good when he touched me, when he held me, kissed me, when he _loved_ me because I _was_ me. He wasn't only caressing my body when he touched me, he was caressing _me_, whether he was aware of that or not. I felt his hands dip into my very soul and cradle it lovingly, passionately.

Was it so wrong to want this? To want the one thing that had ever made me feel anything resembling joy or happiness in the least? Hadn't I suffered enough to deserve this? Why couldn't I be his wife, huh? Why, _why_!?

The question rang through my mind so often it was becoming a cancer of my heart, pulsing at odd moments, pain spreading throughout me, from my chest all the way to my very fingertips and down into my toes. Following my veins all around my body, those bits and pieces of selfishness and guilt flowed freely.

_She could make him happier than I could, she could give him the love that he deserves, and the children he needs. What can I give him? Just broken pieces of something that I think is the part of me that loves. Do I love him? Is this even love? Is this what it feels like?_ I asked myself.

_"He's an escape, Kaida."_ Monigan told me soothingly, _"That's what it is. You can't use your books, your music, your TV or internet anymore, but you never truly needed those things, and so you don't need him, and he doesn't need you. What is love, anyway? Is it truly such a great thing? Do you have any experience in the matter? No, he loves you because you were the only thing he could reach out for at the time. The moment he sets eyes on Farah again, all of that will be forgotten. Words are just words, he's simply been saying things he doesn't really mean without even realizing it himself. Such pretty words, makes you want to kill him for it, for every last syllable that's been cutting you deeper than you even realize. Stop it now before it gets too deep, Kaida, stop it now."_

I was listening to her, after everything I knew about her, after working for a natural reaction of mistrusting everything she says even if it included the sky being blue, I was _listening_ to her.

And then Sacrosanct spoke up.

**_"That won't be the end of it and you know it. Going to find Farah will only cause you more pain. Let the prince fill that empty space in your heart, let him pick up the pieces of your broken love. He would do anything for you, so let him."_** She said.

For a moment, I simply sat there, and I looked up at the prince, who was reading. I was shaking, that gnawing hunger becoming unbearable. The lack of alcohol was letting the hole inside me grow larger, I felt hot, silent tears falling from my face, and choking me in the throat. Gods, I didn't want him, I _needed_ him. That hole was going to swallow me up, and I suddenly realized that I was afraid of it. If it managed to consume me, I would completely loose my mind. I would finally get down on my knees and beg the prince to kill me, to let me die, and he might just do it.

I suddenly realized that I didn't want to die anymore, or rather, I didn't want, to _want_ to die anymore. I was sick of it, tired of suffering like this, tired of having to force myself to smile, I was tired of not being able to _enjoy_ anything. I was tired of being this angsty-dramatic Emo character, always thinking of suicide but keeping her head up high through sheer force of will, even if that will's name was Sacrosanct. I wanted to be the character that found everything funny and found ways to enjoy anything. I wanted to be _happy_ d(beep)it! I wanted to be happy! I wanted to be cheerful! I wanted to smile more, I wanted to _live_!

But _could_ I?

_"Don't, Kaida, it's not worth—"_

**_"Silence."_** Sacrosanct said, quite calmly, but Monigan shut up instantly, and Sacrosanct pushed her and everyone else back into the Manor herself, and closing the door for me, before she faded away into nothing before I could thank her.

I got up quietly, and wrapped my arms around the Prince from behind. "Prince," I murmured in his ear, "I…I need you." I told him.

I heard his breath catch in his throat, and his book just slipped out of his grasp and landed open on the wrong page on the desk he'd been propping himself up on. "Wh-what for?" He asked breathlessly.

"There's a hole inside of me, a hole which constantly threatens to swallow me up and leave nothing but a shell." I answered, working to get the white tunic he'd taken to wearing off of him. "I need it filled. Think you can do that for me?" I asked.

"I would do anything for you." He whispered, helping me with his tunic until it was off him and on the floor.

I sighed and slipped into his lap, where he kissed me so deeply I thought I was going to drown in it. I kissed him back, every inch of my body longing for more, longing to draw his very being inside of me in order to fill that space. I let myself become intoxicated in him, and for the first time, I though I could feel the last of my restraints fade away, and I allowed myself to moan softly when his lips left mine in order to trail down my neck.

"What, brought this on, if I may ask?" He murmured, his breath hot on my skin, making it tingle and the hair rise.

"I'm tired, prince." I murmured, "I'm tired of being _me_. I'm tired of not feeling much joy in anything, I'm tired of always feeling sorry for myself, and of always letting myself sink into depression every time there's too little to do and nothing exciting is happening. Prince, I'm tired of looking _forward_ to my death. I want to struggle to _live_, I want to _dread_ it, to _fight_ it. I want to be _whole_…but I don't know how. Do you think you might be able to teach me?" I murmured, letting myself melt into his arms.

"Oh god…" He murmured in a shaking voice, his head buried in the crook of my neck, "I'll do everything in my power to teach you, if I can, I'll do it."

It was probably then that I realized just how much power a woman really could hold over a man. It was not a happy realization, it was morbid and filled with darkness. The prince loved me so much he had turned himself into my slave.

All the while I could feel myself slowly becoming his.

XP

Rhea: NO TIME FOR FAQ TODAY!!! MUST GO GET CHORES DONE!!!

Kioko: Fine, _be_ that way. (Rhea runs off) (Evil smile) Alrighty, now that she's gone…(pulls out list and hands it to Monigan) The stars mark the people I want _dead_, the rest I just want you to rough up a bit, scare them for me. _Don't_ kill them, they owe me money. You do that, and I'll get you that mirror you wanted.

Monigan: _Yes ma'am!_

Kaida!.! Mirror!? What mirror!?

Monigan: _Oh, it's nothing…(Dissappears)_

Kaida: What did she ask for!? What mirror!?

Kioko: (Gasp!) OMIGOSH IS THAT THE PRINCE MAKING OUT WITH FARAH!?

Kaida!.! WHAT THE _HELL_!? GET YOU'RE HANDS OFF HIM B(BEEP) HE'S MI—…(pauses, neither prince nor Farah are anywhere around) (Glares daggers at Kioko)

Kioko: 'Mine'? 'He's mine', was that what you were about to say?

Kaida: I hate you _so_ much right now.

Kioko: Oh you're just saying that to make me feel better. (Chuckles) Read and review and whatever.


	3. Banana Attack

A/N: I'm thinking about doing some random drabbles on the side for Dark Dreams. I'll make sure I still have an update a day for the original story, but that'd be like putting some icing on the cake, what do you guys think?

XP

"BANANA ATTACK!!!" I cried, just as a banana flew through the air and hit the prince in the head.

"Gah! What tha—Kaida? What are you, ah hey!" He exclaimed, just managing to dodge another banana, only to get smacked across the eyes with another one.

"We are the Order of the Banana!" I declared, "You shall be assimilated into our religion! Join us Prince! HOHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!" I exclaimed.

"Never!" The prince said, grinning as he wound his way through the crates in order to get away from me, "I'll never join you!"

"Resistance is futile! Join us! You'll _like_ being a bana—I mean, being one of us!" I exclaimed, chasing him all around the large maze that was our storage room.

"You vial woman!" He exclaimed, though ruining the entire effect by laughing, "How many innocent men have you turned into bananas!?"

"Innocent, eh? You believe there is such a thing as an innocent man, Prince?" I asked, sneaking around a corner to where his back was turned.

"Now _that_ was a low blow!" He said, laughing as he looked around to figure out where I was.

"Both men and women have an equal ability to be evil, Prince." I said, catching him from behind. "It's simply that in most cultures men have an easier time, more opportunity, and can get away with it without anyone knowing. So what are we women suppose to do when men decide to blame the sins of their own desires on us, hm? Not all of us are as strong as I am, and isn't that the only thing that separates our genders, really? Men have more strength, and so they have the ability to use force in order to dominate the population, resulting in a culture where males are superior to females, because it is human nature to seek to rule over other humans and to feel as though you are a step above. I personally prefer the matriarchy system of the ancient Chinese before Buddhism came around and screwed everything up." I said, still tossing bananas after him.

"I thought we were pretending to be children again, when did this become a philosophical discussion?" Asked the prince, jumping up onto some crates in order to dodge my bananas.

"When you insinuated that all men are innocent and I'm just some vial woman for turning them into bananas! I'm explaining to you why that notion is wrong, and using the power of the bananas to force my beliefs onto you! Isn't that how it always works?"

"I think I've figured out why you have so much trouble being happy! You _think_ too much!" The prince told me.

"Yeah, you're right, LESS THINKING MORE GAMES!!!" I declared. "BEHOLD THE POWER OF THE ORANGE!"

"OWE! That actually hurt!" The prince exclaimed, though he was still laughing.

"Bah, that's _baby_ pain! _Babies_ wouldn't cry about that! So you know what that makes you, Prince? A fetus!" I exclaimed.

"What in the world is a 'fetus'!?"

"It's a baby that's still in its mommy's tummy you dolt!" I said, hitting him squarely in the shoulder with another orange.

"Well excuse me for not knowing!" He exclaimed, dodging behind the pile of crates to get away from me.

"So is _this_ what _really_ goes on down here!?" Exclaimed a voice that I recognized, and I spun around, orange crate still under one arm, and an orange in the other arm's hand, to find the first mate at the door to our ship's storage room. He and two other men were there, all of which were looking both shocked, and a bit amused.

"Pretty much, why?" I asked. For the past few days, I had been experiencing bouts of silliness which the prince was gladly participating in. I tossed the orange in my hand in the air and caught it again easily, "What did you _think_ was going on?" I asked, raising an eyebrow. The two guards turned away with innocent looks on their faces, and the first mate just grinned.

"Oh, nothing." He said.

"Why are you here?" Asked the prince, coming to stand beside me, all mirth from his face gone.

"Unfortunately the time has come when we need the two of you down on the ship, we're only few hours journey from Babylon, so if you'll just come with us quietly, we'll make sure you're comfortable for the rest of the ride." He told me. The prince put a hand on my shoulder, his grip tight, but his expression impassive.

"Alright." I said, setting the crate down.

"Afraid you'll be separate, though." Said the first mate, "We'll be putting you in with the other men, and I'd rather the lady have her own room."

The prince's expression became like ice, but he let go of my shoulder, if reluctantly.

We were led out of the ship to where a rope ladder had been erected. One of the men tried to pick me up to carry me down, but I slapped his hand away, "I can _climb_, thanks." I said, letting my temper get the better of me as I swung nimbly over the edge and came down without any trouble.

One of the men tried to take my shoulders to lead me, but again I knocked his hands away, feeling that panic rising in the pit of myself, "Stop that, I can _walk_, thanks, and I _will_ walk, I'm not causing any trouble, alright? So please keep your hands to yourself if you don't mind." I said stiffly.

"Trouble?" Asked the first mate, coming down and frowning at the expression on the men's faces.

"Not _yet_, but there _will be_ if your men don't keep their hands off me. I've agreed to come without making a fuss, I think I deserve a little more respect than this." I said.

"I apologize, ma'am. Of course you do." The first mate said, "Hands off, men. Let the lady through."

The men grumbled mutinously, but the first mate ushered me swiftly up to one of the cabin doors, and led me down a few passages to the room that was to be my cell.

Only it didn't look at all like a cell. It looked like a bedroom, for some nobility or something, like a guest rather than a prisoner, even though there _was_ a pretty hefty lock on the door, which the first mate had to open with a key. It wasn't particularly _big_, per say, but it had nice furnishings in colors I hadn't seen for a long time. There was also a bath tub ready and waiting for me, with drying cloths and a pretty blue dress waiting for me on the bed.

I was able to keep my suspicions down and put a smile on my face as I turned to the first mate, "A bath too? Goodness, one might think I were a guest rather than a prisoner." I said.

The first mate grinned at me, "The captain's been hinting that we might just keep you for ourselves. You have a beautiful singing voice ma'am, even if you don't think so yourself. The men are very much enchanted by your songs. We want you to be comfortable."

"I see, well thank you very much for such courtesy, I do appreciate it." I told him. He tipped his cap to me, and closed the door, locking it soundly.

I decided to make use of the bath, it'd been a while since I'd had one, making Sullian purify and heat up water so that I could, I felt grimy, but I'd long since gotten use to feeling dirty and it didn't bother me as much as it use to.

I let my hair down and took off my clothes so I could sink into the water. It wasn't nearly as hot as I liked it, but there was soap so I wasn't going to complain. I scrubbed myself clean with a bit more than just the soap, and then pulled out Sullian to purify the water again so that I could wash my clothes in it. I was _not_ wearing the blue dress, no matter how nice it looked.

After futilely trying to wash my clothes myself, I gave up and sent them to Gamor in the Manor to wash. He did so without fuss, he wasn't the intellectual type, he was actually little more than a short, squat golem with a thing for Wemlast's dolls and a rather random knack for laundry. I sometimes speculated about whether it wasn't Wemlast who created him in the first place, because he was the only one of the lesser demons that wasn't afraid of her.

While waiting for him to finish, I wrapped myself up tightly in the drying towel and began combing out my hair, hoping he would get finished swiftly so I could dress myself again, before anyone decided to walk in on me.

There was a mirror in the room, a full length mirror which I found myself walking over towards. I'd not seen my reflection properly since coming into this world, and hadn't seem my own face outside the sand-monster form since then either.

The tattoo that snaked along my neck actually rose up the right side of my face, a small line of detailed markings reaching up to my eye, where it seemed to curve so that it looked like there was a small streak coming down from the edge of my eye.

It wasn't much, the markings were detailed, though simple enough, but it seemed to give my facial features an extra quality, some dark beauty that I hadn't had before. And I could see more clearly how that mark went on down my neck and continued down my right arm, over my chest, and down past to my belly button. The tattoo from my back seemed to come around and engulf my right leg just as it did my arm, and I turned around with the towel securely over my chest in order to see it.

I saw more than just the mark. At first I couldn't figure out what it was, it seemed like a straight line of some sort, like there was something hidden in the designs that just didn't quite fit. It was too, I don't know, it was too orderly, it just went against the flow of the randomized designs. And for a while I simply stood there, trying to figure it out, craning my neck around to see, and wishing I had another mirror with me so it might be easier that way.

And then I recognized it, three places which didn't fit, they weren't simply random designs, they were _words_, in Asian writing, in kanji, there were three of them which had been flipped over so that one would only be able to read them if they used a mirror.

The first character read 'creation', the second read 'destruction', and the third read 'harmony'. "Creation, destruction, harmony?" I murmured to myself, "What does _that_ mean?"

**_"Creation is the first. From creation there came life, there came worlds, people, and beings, it brought forth happiness, joy, and love. From destruction there came devastation, suffering, and blight upon the lands, filling the people with fear, sorrow, and hatred. From harmony there came death, a peaceful rest after the imbalance between creation and destruction. It is a combination of both, and devoid of either. These three are the cosmic spectrums which govern all worlds. I thought turning them into markings upon your back would be a nice touch."_** Sacrosanct answered me.

"Yeah, fan-freak'n-tastic." I muttered to myself, pulling the towel back up so I was covered better.

**_"At least you're not so bad at your kanji that you couldn't read them."_** Sacrosanct snickered.

I decided to ignore her in favor of checking up on Gamor's progress. He was finished, and, rather than bringing the outfit out and putting it on that way, I decided to materialize it around me to save time. It worked fairly well, and I was glad I did, for there was a knock on the door as I turned back to the mirror in order to braid my hair. "Come in." I said, wondering if we were already at Babylon. Surely not, it hadn't been _that_ long since the first mate came to get the prince and me.

It was the captain. He came into the room and closed the door behind him, locking it, and slipped the key somewhere I didn't see.

"Greetings, miss." He said, giving me a pleasant smile, which I wanted to carve right out of his mouth. I _knew_ it was too good to be true.

I plastered a small smile of my own, "I guess I should thank you for the nice lodgings, and the bath. Was there something you needed?" I asked.

"Well, you are welcome, but I see you're not wearing the dress I had laid out for you, why not?" He asked, frowning slightly.

"Oh, that was for _me_?" I asked, pretending to be surprised, "I had no idea. Well, thank you, but I'm afraid that bit of charity I'll have to refuse. I don't like dresses much, I never have. I find them tiresome and quite frustrating." I said, going back to my hair and separating it out into three parts.

"I'd like you to wear it, I think you would look quite lovely in it." The captain told me.

"I wouldn't know the first thing about putting something like that on." I said airily, pulling my hair back and starting the braid.

"Oh, I think I could help you with that." He appeared in the mirror behind me, and laid his hands gently upon my shoulders.

I shrugged his hands off and moved away from him, "No thank you, captain. Besides, I prefer black." I said. "Is there something I can do for you?" I asked, getting down on the floor so that I could start doing some push ups. The captain watched in fascination as I brought my legs up over my head so that I was standing on my hands, and then took one hand and brought it behind my back. The one that was left both balanced me, and was the one who was pushing me up and letting me down. I half wanted to do this to get the captain off me, and half to show him that I wasn't some weak little girl he could easily take advantage of.

He watched me for a while, apparently loosing his train of thought as I continued to go up and down. He only came to when I switched arms and began performing the same motion with my other. "I...you are very strong…" He murmured.

I grinned at him, "Strong enough to give my muscular companion a hard time at least. I could take a number of your crew men down at once, I've no doubt about that, I'm just not fool enough to try fighting them _all_ at the same time." I explained.

"You do not…_appear_ that strong." He said.

"A woman's muscles are more easily hidden than a man's." I told him, smirking. "Let me ask you something, Captain, do you do this often?"

"Do I do what now?" He asked, slightly confused.

"Snatch out small boats like ours with the intention of selling the crew into slavery I mean." I clarified.

"Ah, well." He said, spreading his hands out as I let my feet touch the ground in front of me, and I flipped myself back onto them easily. "Business is business. You know how things go."

"I see, just clarify a few things for me then. If I were a man, or if I were a woman that didn't look so pretty, how would I be treated?" I asked, looking at my nails as though this were a throw-away question.

"More or less like anyone else." He answered, shrugging. "Though if you were a woman without you're particular, ah, uniqueness, I'm afraid I wouldn't have an excuse to keep the men off of you. You should consider yourself fortunate."

"Oh I do, Captain, make no mistake, I recognize that I am _very_ fortunate. But, well, the thing is, that's the problem." I said, stretching my arms over my head.

"Pardon?"

"How many people, how many human lives have been sold into slavery this way? How many have been treated like nothing more than pieces of meat, been shown no respect whatsoever, and been stripped of their standing as human beings? And for what? To fill your wallet, to give you a comfortable living? What gives you the right to turn people into things, captain?"

"Now don't you start preaching at me, little lady, you're in no position to judge." He said, now looking angry.

"You seem defensive, you're not even going to try and deny it then? Are you guilty? Well, if you are, apparently that guilt is not enough, it's a wonder the gods themselves haven't struck you dead." I said. He let out a growl if anger and lunged after me, but I kicked him back with ease and he fell into the desk, breaking it. "As it is, I suppose _I_ will have to do." I said.

He glared up at me, anger coloring his face, and he drew his sword from his belt, "And just who do you think you are to decide _that_ little girl!?" He hissed.

"I? I am the Empress of Time, Captain." I said, and his eyes widened, "And I never had any intention of allowing myself to be sold into slavery. If I'm not mistaken, you gave orders for no one to disturb us, and we have hours until we reach Babylon." I said, slowly pushing one of my swords out from my wrist. His eyes widened, and he raised his own sword and tried to cut me down, but my blade shattered his when it hit, breaking it into three pieces with both the impact, and the power that I, myself, put into it. I kicked him back again, and drew the other sword from my wrist. He looked up into my face, and for the first time I saw fear there, "First," I said, "I'm going to make you beg for your life, like so many others have begged you for there's. And then, then I'm going to make you beg me for death, as I imagine many others have longed for death themselves. And you know what Captain? There's nothing you, nor anybody else, can do about it. The only reason I haven't had your entire crew slaughtered is because riding your ship to Babylon would get us there faster, but now that we're almost there, I don't think I need to keep up the charade." I summoned the key from his coat with my sands, and made it disappear.

The captain screamed, but no one heard him.

XD

Before I go on, I'd like to get into what was happening to the _prince_ at this time. I learned about it later, but it's far too amusing to leave out, and would be funnier if I put it here rather than waiting until the prince explained it to me to write it out.

There's not much to tell, but when we were separated, the prince was taken down to the cells where a number of other slaves were being kept. He wasn't shackled like they were, I don't think they had any more shackles, _and_ he wasn't stupid enough to try and escape. So they simply locked him behind the bars, and he went to sit on a bench bed.

"So," One of the guards said, grinning at the prince from the other side of the bars, "How long have you and the lady known each other?"

The prince simply looked at him, wondering where this was going, and said, simply, "Long enough."

"She's a beauty." He said. The prince didn't respond. "So…what's she like?"

"Excuse me?" The prince raised an eyebrow at him.

"In bed, is she as fiery as they've been telling me? Or is that just rumor?" he asked without hesitation.

The prince, at this time, would have liked nothing more than to strangle the guard until his eyes popped out of his head, but suddenly a very evil thought came to him, probably out of hanging around me for too long, and rather than getting upset or pretending he didn't know what the other was talking about, he decided to do something _else_. He feigned a look of consideration, and said, "Scary."

"Uh, say what?" The sailor said, completely blown by this response.

"Frightening? Ah, terrifying, chilly, daunting, intimidating." He listed.

"In _bed_? I mean, when you're making love?" The sailor clarified.

"Yeah. Believe it or not, I'm afraid to say no because I don't want to know what she'd do to me if I tried to refuse." He answered.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, back up, _she_ comes on to _you_? And you're _afraid_ of her?" Asked the sailor.

"That sounds about right." The prince answered, shrugging as though there was nothing really particular about that.

"_Why_?" The sailor questioned.

The prince looked at him, as though trying to decide if the sailor was serious or not, "Do you, _really_, want me to answer that?"

"Well, it's just, she doesn't seem that scary to me. I mean, she's just a woman, right?" He asked, tentatively.

The prince immediately busted out laughing for a full five seconds, but then suddenly caught himself and said, "Oh, oh you were _serious_! Uh…"

"Alright, let me ask you this, if she's so…so whatever it is that makes you afraid of her, how come she's coming with us all quiet-like?" He asked.

The prince shrugged, "I've stopped trying to understand some of the things she does, or anything for that matter. One moment she decides she doesn't want to be disturbed and kicks me out of the cabin, the next she starts throwing fruit at me and demanding that I 'play' with her. You're lucky your captain gave her her own room, I shudder to think what might happen if she had someone else in there to…ah…_talk_ to." He said.

As the captain had decided he was going to spend the rest of the voyage with me, and as a number of the crew new about this because he ordered not to be disturbed, the guard paled, telling the prince that I did, indeed, have someone to _talk_ to. The prince looked at him, "She's not alone, is she?"

"I think the captain's with her…" Said one of the other guards, and he, too, looked nervous.

The prince cringed at this, "I, ah, think you're going to have to find a new captain when we get to Babylon."

How ironic that this ended up being exactly the case.

XP

Kaida: You know what this is called? This is called having _fun_!

Prince: Your definition of 'fun' disturbs me.

Kioko: That's not just _her_ definition of fun, heheheh. I almost can't wait for the next chapter myself, just to watch what happens to the captain.

Rhea: Oh it's gonna be good. Heheheheheheheheh.

Kaida: _Excellent_.

Rhea: Who wants to do the FAQ?!

Prince: Can I do it? I've never done it before!

Rhea: Okay, go for it.

Q: What's with the banana attack? When did Kaida get so silly?

A: Right after the second chapter, actually. She felt our daily routines were boring and wanted to spice them up a bit, with bananas, obviously.

Rhea: There's nothing in the world a little silliness can't at least help!

Q: Is Kaida a feminist?

A: 'Feminist'?

Kaida: It's a woman who is slightly fanatical about men and women equality, and yes, I guess I am, though only to a certain degree.

Kioko: The problem with most feminists, however, is they don't realize that we women already rule the world.

A: What? No you don't!

Kioko: Hnhnhn, that's right Prince, you just keep on thinking that like a good boy (Pats him on the head).

Q: What's Kaida going to do to the captain?

A: You'll have to wait and see on that one…personally, I'm not too sure I want to know myself.

All three girls: You don't.

A: Yeah…women are scary…

Kioko: Why thank you, Prince! That's the sweetest thing you've said to me!

Q: Why did the prince tell the guards Kaida was scary in bed?

A: Because she is.

Kaida: _Excuse_ me!?

A: Well you are! T.T

Kaida: You wuss.

Rhea: Actually it was in an attempt to make sure Kaida wasn't bothered, he wanted to spook the men so that they would have a better chance of escaping.

Prince: I thought I was doing the FAQ…

Rhea: I don't know what you two do in your _private_ time, and I don't want to know, but in the story Kaida is _not_ freaky dominatrix lady, okay?

Kaida: Uh, we don't do _anything_ in our private time.

Prince: (Mutters) That's not for lack of trying though…

Kaida: You stay ten feet away from me at all times.

Prince: Why don't you love me!?

Rhea: I think that's enough. Until next chapter!!!


	4. Crowded Rooms

A/N: I….have nothing to say…

XP

I couldn't tell you how long the captain and I had been in that room. I wasn't entirely sure why I was doing this, I wasn't getting any pleasure out of it, but every time I thought of letting up, of letting him go, images, no, _visions_ of men, women, and _children_ all came into my mind, begging to be let free, begging for their lives, begging, even, for their death. And him saying, no, they were too valuable to him alive.

Alive, and forced into slavery, because of _this man_.

"How does it feel?" I murmured, "It's not so nice when you're on the receiving end, was it? Who was that girl? The one who asked if she could at least have her doll back? The one who begged endlessly for her mother? Do you remember her? Do you remember her name?"

"N-n-no, I, I don't know, I don't know! P-please, please!" He begged, his face full of fear, his eyes sparkling with the tears I had forced out of him.

"And that boy, the blond one? Did you know he was bringing medicine back to his mother when you took him prisoner? Did you know she died waiting for him to return? Do you know how long it took for her to die? But she held on to life, she held on because she knew, she _knew_ he would return to her. But he never did, and her body eventually gave out on her. She was in _pain_ for over a _year_ before she died. Did you know that, captain? Did you know that? Did you think to ask? Did you think to listen to the boy's pleading and begging?" I asked.

"I'm sorry! I'm sorry!" He sobbed, "I didn't, I didn't mean—"

"No, you're not sorry, you were never sorry. And you did mean to do it. You didn't care, admit it, you never cared."

"P-p-please, please! No-no-no!!!" He screamed, attempting to resist, but it was pointless. Kagero's smoke extended from my wrist to engulf his other arm and sink into the flesh. The captain screamed and began writhing on the floor, begging me to make it stop, to make _him_ stop.

"This is nothing compared to the suffering that you've caused, Captain." I said, taking him by his hair, and dragging him over to the full-length mirror. I forced him on his knees, his head back so he had to stare at himself, "It was only a matter of time before it all caught up to you, Captain. It was only a matter of time. You know you're going to hell, right? The moment you die, whether I decide to kill you now, or later, that's where you're going. And you'll have the gods of the underworld to answer to. I'm not sure how it works in this world, but I know it's not going to be a pleasant trip. You've turned yourself into a monster, vicious and predatory, feeding off the helpless and weak to fulfill your own stomach. Your mistake was confusing your own predator for prey." I said in a deathly, quite voice.

"Captain!!!" I heard the first mate cry, banging on the door, "We've got trouble! The King just arrived, he got a look at some of our men and—"

"TERGAN HELP ME!!!" The captain screamed, and the first mate, Tergan, scrambled with his keys as the captain made a break for the door. The moment it was unlocked he burst right out of it, ordering Tergan not to let 'the demon' out.

"D(beep)it." I said, switching to a more light voice as I moved to catch the door with my foot, "You let him escape." I said, and I kicked the door so that Tergan went flying.

When I got outside, I discovered that the entire crew was being arrested, the King's Fleet had the ship surrounded, and I was just able to look down in order to see father and son embracing before the cries and screams of the captain ruined the moment.

Under the guise of chaos, I was able to sneak around beneath notice and get near enough to the prince that, when the captain was brought to his knees in front of the King of Babylon, all I had to do was shoulder my way through, and he would see me.

He screamed, "Your majesty! I care not what you do to me!!! Throw me in prison, hang me by the gallows, _anything_! Just keep that demon away from me!!!" He said, attempting to run, but being forced to stay put.

All eyes were on me now, and the prince put his hands on his hips, "What did you_ do_ to him!?" He exclaimed.

"Now, Prince, do you_ really_ want me to answer that?" I asked, giving him a rather sinisterly innocent smile.

"No, no, I _don't_, actually." He answered.

"_I_ do. What could such a frail-looking lady like you do to put such a man into a fit of terror like this?" The king asked me, his eyes were narrowed, but there was a slightly amused look on his face.

"Oh, a little of this and a little of that." I said innocently.

"IT'S THE DEVIL INCARNATE!!! IF YOU VALUE YOUR SOULS YOU WILL KILL HER WHERE SHE STANDS!!!" The captain yelled. I turned to look at him, and then made as though I was going to step towards him. He coward and began sobbing and whimpering about how he didn't mean it and please, please, _please_ don't hurt him. I smirked, satisfied with that.

"Whatever you did to him, _please_ don't tell my father what it was." The prince said.

"Oh, is _this_ your father? Hello, my name is Kaida Megowan, pleased to meet you. By the way, if you cut open a wound and squirt lemon juice in it it's really, _really_ painful." I told him cheerfully.

"KAIDA!!!" The prince exclaimed, though the king was laughing so hard he was having a difficult time staying dignified about it.

"_Whaaaaat_!?" I exclaimed, innocently, "I'm just making conversation! You don't have to get so defensive." I said.

"So this is the woman you mentioned to me, is it son? Well, young lady, it seems I owe you much gratitude for bringing my son back to me. Thank you." He said, clapping me on both shoulders, his eyes shining as he smiled down at me. I had to grit my teeth and do my best to give him a convincing smile back. It was taking all my will power not to knock his hands away.

What followed had to be one of the most uncomfortable experiences of my _life_. I'm not sure what it was, but the King seemed to have taken to me already. Couldn't have been my charm, I didn't have much of that. Perhaps it was the same reason why the entire male population was staring at me. Red hair, amber eyes, and tattoos. Well, the fact was that, the entire way as he lead the prince and me through the city, he kept scooping me up and telling me that I would be treated to a hero's feast, and that I would have an honored place at his table, and that he would love to hear all about how I had met his son and blah, blah, blah get-your-hand-off-me-please.

We eventually found ourselves in the somewhat privacy of the castle, where food was prepared for the prince's arrival, so that he and his father could do a good deal of catching up. I attempted to hang back, not wanting to intrude on the family joy, but, once more, found myself being scooped back into the froe of attention by the king. And the prince, of course, being the man that he was, was simply too excited about being back home and seeing his father again to notice my discomfort.

I guess I should have expected it though. Now that there was a crowd of people around, now that I wasn't the only intelligent being that he could talk to, the prince was able to give his attention to something else. Half of me found this a great relief. It would be easier now, easier for him to let go. Perhaps surrounded as he now was by his people, by the reminders of his duty, he would come to realize what I'd been trying to tell him all along. He would understand that we _couldn't_ be together like that, and we could go back to being _friends_, just _friends_, and nothing more.

But that other half of me was twisting and screaming in agony at the thought of loosing him to another woman. A half which I beat down with a metal bat and buried deep, deep into the underground of my heart where it was easier to ignore. Easier to pretend it didn't exist.

I took my seat next to the prince before the king could tell me to sit down next to him. I ate in silence, preferring not to join into the conversation. Though we were in a smaller crowd, there were still servants everywhere waiting on us hand and foot, and, for some reason, a table of woman was set up next to us, where a range of very pretty but scantly clad women were sitting, giggling, and looking over at the prince. They were throwing me a few filthy looks, though, which I simply responded to with a raised eyebrow and decided to ignore.

I ate what I could stomach while the prince told his father what he could, and also a few lies so he could avoid the whole 'Dahaka' issue. Apparently he really didn't want to tell his father about the hourglass, or the Island of Time. But he _did_ tell his father that it was only because of me that he was alive today, and also that he was able to come home at last.

I wanted it to be over. I regretted ever agreeing to come here, to so much as get on the same ship as him. What had I expected? A city full of strife like in Two Thrones? One where we would be _doing_ something rather than sitting around and having a nice little chit-chat? I had prevented Zervan from ever even knowing about the Sands of Time by taking Kaileena's library and everything else from that island.

Yes, that had been it, I expected us to come to a burning city, to struggle through it just like we had in the Island of Time, to be fighting, to be living on the edge of our tether. Not this, not this…

I wanted out of this, I wanted out of this room, out of this castle, out of this entire, freak'n, _city_. I was surrounded by _people_, I was not use to this, the last time I'd ever been near a crowd, or any time I had ever been near a crowd, the streets were flooded with bodies and blood. People were screaming, I was running, slipping, trying to get away from them just like everyone else. And anyone who tried to help me…

"Kaida, _Kaida_!" The prince put a hand on my shoulder and shook me.

"W-what?" I suddenly looked up, noticing that everyone was staring at me.

"Are you, alright?" The prince asked, looking concerned.

"I'm fine." I murmured, shrugging off his hand. A bad move, something I realized only _after_ I'd done it. Now he would _know_ something was wrong.

"Perhaps the day's excitement has exhausted the young lady." Said the king, smiling kindly at me, almost in a fatherly fashion. "Our finest guest room has been prepared for you, if you'd like to retire." He told me.

"Yes." I murmured, "Thank you very much." I said, standing up and trying not allow my relief to be too obvious.

"I'll go with you." The prince said.

"I'll be fine, Prince." I told him, giving him a small smile, "_You_ haven't seen your father in over seven years. I promise I'm not going to disappear while you're not looking." I told him, and I followed the servant who told me, very respectfully, that he would show me to my room.

It was much too large, much too lavish, and the bed was much too big. But it had a balcony that looked over out across the sea, and I took my refuge there, sinking down onto the rail, and allowing myself to shake and shudder to my heart's content.

The twilight air was cool and crisp, I could smell the familiar scent of the sea, mixed with the incense that wafted out to me from the guest room I had been given. The combination of these familiar scents wasn't enough to soothe me, though one might think it should have.

_I need alcohol._ I thought to myself. No, actually, the reality of it was that I needed the _prince_. But now that we were here, now that we were in Babylon, we couldn't continue what we had been doing until now. We were no longer in a world where the only living beings were the two of us, we were in Babylon, we were in the greatest city on earth…

And I never anticipated how much not having him right there next to me would hurt. Never anticipated how incredibly overwhelmed I would feel once we arrived here. I felt like a child in this place, I had no control over what was happening, we were no longer on a ship that the two of us were directing, we were no longer on the Island of Time, which I knew like the back of my hand. We were no longer fighting beside one another, no longer passing the time on the same small boat as one another, reading and talking.

I felt as though coming here had ripped me in half, and my other half was just going to be getting drawn farther and farther away from me as the weight of the city's needs fell upon its shoulders. Had it really got to the point where the prince and I were more like twins than brother and sister? More like an already married couple than lovers, if that was even what you could call us? And if that were the case…how could I have let this happen? Why did I let him become my other half? Why?

Was I even aware it was happening? Could I have stopped it if I was? If I thought about it, really thought about it, was I so sure that one night, that first night, would never have happened?

There was a bell in this room, and I pulled on it. In only a few moments a servant came in and bowed so low I thought he might tip over at any moment, "What is your desire, Oh Lady?" He asked in a hushed voice.

"I…" I was rather taken aback by this treatment, and tried to regain my composure, "I'd like some wine, if it's not too much trouble." I told him.

"It is my only desire to serve, Oh Lady." He answered.

"Thank you." I told him as he bowed again and moved to leave. This seemed to surprise him slightly, causing him to bow again before leaving swiftly.

I let myself fall upon the cushions that seemed to line the entire room in order to wait. I let myself lay sprawled across them, an arm over my head, my hand touching my brow as I closed my eyes against the torchlight. "Why did I come here again?" I murmured to an unresponsive ceiling. "Oh yeah, that's right, because I can't seem to say 'no' to a certain pair of blue eyes." I muttered sarcastically to myself.

When the servant came back with a few bottles and two glasses for me, I thanked him again, deciding not to tell him that I really didn't expect anyone else to join me, and he left with another bow to me.

I sighed, poured a glass, and took a sip. It wasn't quite as good as what Kaileena had, so I cheated a bit and aged it another hundred years. _Perfect._ I thought, drinking deeply and sighing contentedly. I could already feel it working to help loosen me up. I poured myself another glass.

"What's this? You're starting without me?" Came an incredulous voice from the balcony, and I turned, not altogether shocked to see the prince there, leaning against the entry way.

"Is your room just above mine or something?" I asked him.

"It's next to yours. If I didn't know any better, I'd say father did that on purpose." He said, grinning as he came to settle down next to me, and pour the other glass for himself.

"And if _I_ didn't know any better, I'd say that he's this close to adopting me." I said, taking a sip.

"_Mmm_." The prince said in surprise, drinking some of the wine, "Wow, how old is this?" He asked.

"Few hundred years. I aged it myself." I answered.

He licked his lips. "By the way, I told father that I wanted to marry you."

I choked on my sip and slammed my glass down on the table. "WHAT!?" I demanded, "Okay, you know what? That's called _foul play_ on my world!" I declared angrily.

"Calm down, I also told him that you were barren and couldn't have children, and it was for that reason that you kept refusing to take my offer of marriage." He said.

"Oh." I said, feeling relieved, "And, let me guess, he told you that I'm right?" I asked, not quite managing to keep the triumphant tone out of my voice.

"No, actually," The prince took another deep drink from his goblet, and then stared at it as though it had just insulted his mother, "He said that I could take a concubine and you could adopt the child as your own."

"_Or_ you could find yourself a better woman to be your _wife_." I said.

"That's the problem, though, Kaida. I don't _want_ another woman, _any_ other woman! I want _you_." He grabbed me by the shoulders and forced me back down onto the pillows that we were sitting on, an action which surprised me slightly. I wasn't really expecting it, though you'd think I would have. "And I'm getting tired of taking 'no' for an answer." He said darkly, a shadow crossing his eyes.

"You haven't _been_ taking 'no' for an answer, Prince." I said with a sigh.

"And that's the problem, isn't it?" He growled.

"Yes, it is, but that's not entirely your fault either. It isn't as though I've been very adamant about _saying_ no, nor have I done a very good job of getting my point across." I slipped my arm around his neck and kissed him.

"Can you honestly tell me that you don't love me? After all of this?" The prince asked.

"No, I _can't_ honestly say I don't love you. But I can't honestly say that I do either. I've asked myself the same question over and over again and I can't seem to answer it. I wish I could dip into your mind and get a taste of what you feel for me, just so I might have something, _anything_, to make a comparison by. But whether I do or not isn't the reason." I sighed, and I ran my fingers through his hair, resting upon his cheek. His eyes closed and he shifted his weight so he could take my hand and kiss it.

"Then what _is_ the reason?" He murmured.

"How many times am I going to have to repeat myself, Prince?" I sighed, and I slipped out from under him so I could sit up and pace around the room. "You don't understand, I don't…I don't know how long I'm going to be able to stay here." I told him.

"What? But, but _why_?" He asked, completely taken aback by this.

"You didn't notice, did you? Your father, I know he was trying to be accommodating, wanting me to feel as welcome as he could possibly make me, but he was putting his arm around me, his hand on my shoulder, taking my wrist into his own and pulling me along. Each time I wanted to scream and jerk away, I wanted to yell at him about touching me the way I use to yell at _you_. But if I did that…" I sighed, "I don't want to offend your father, but I also don't want to loose control and have another Kagero incident in front of him. Can you just _imagine_ the chaos that would ensue and the sort of things that Kagero might _say_ in front of him?" I ran my fingers through my hair, "And _Monigan_, I don't even want to _think_ about what might happen if _she_ got out."

"I'm sorry…I didn't notice, I guess I just didn't think about it when he was putting his arm around you." The prince murmured, "But isn't that what you want? To be able to allow others to touch you without panicking like that? To be able to deal with these situations the way anyone else might?" He asked, standing up and coming to me.

"Yes, yes that _is_ what I want, but I just don't know if it's even a possibility. The mind is far more powerful than most realize, and experience has a large effect upon the mind. I just never realized how much being in crowds would upset me, how close to the edge I would be, longing to be alone again every single moment, counting the seconds and wondering when I would be able to escape. The only times I've ever been in crowds of people, the only experiences with that I've ever had…

"I can remember all of it so vividly, the streets flooded with bodies, slipping on blood that seemed to be an inch deep all around me, screaming in the air, sirens sounding all around me, gunshots, cries, men and women fighting, struggling fruitlessly. They had no chance in hell of defending themselves, children sobbing over the dead bodies of their parents, their screams echoing in my ears as they, themselves, were caught up in the massacre. It was genocide, all around me, and while I ran with the others, while I screamed and cried as well, trying to get away, I knew…I knew that it was my fault, everything was because _I had been born_. No one knew, how could they know? And when someone tried to help me, they were tortured to death.

"And you know what _they_ did? They laughed, they _laughed_! They were _enjoying_ themselves, they were having the time of their lives. And there was nothing I could do about it, there was _nothing I could do_. You can't expect me to forget something like that in a hurry, you can't tell me that I can just 'get over it', just like that. I want to, you have no _idea_ how much I wish I could be _with_ people, _without_ remembering what use to happen to anyone who got too close to me. I want to _forget_ what happened, to forget everything that I went through as a child, to start over, to be the happy-go-lucky girl that I _might_ have been. If I could take a knife and cut out those memories, I would do it in an instant. I want to learn, I want to learn to be around people, to feel comfortable even in large crowds, I just don't know if I _can_."

"Then _try_." The prince murmured, taking me into his arms, "Kaida, I don't know what to do, I have _no idea_ how to make this better for you. I know what it's like to feel terror, to know what fear really is, and to spend your days looking over your shoulder, afraid that any second _it_ will find you, _it_ will be coming after you. But you took that away from me, it's because of _you_ that the Dahaka no longer peruses me. I want to help you for that reason just as much as for the other. I don't know how to make you more comfortable around crowds, but if there's a way, I promise I'll find it."

What was the harm in letting myself believe him? I mean, how much worse could I screw things up?

Oh crap! Is that Murphy knocking at my door!?

XP

Murphy: Hello.

Kaida: (Pulls out rocket launcher and shoots it at him)

(BOOOOOOOOOOM!!!)

Rhea: O.o Uh…you know that's kinda overkill…

Kaida: (twitching) Don't care, he's _dead_ isn't he!?

Kioko: Actually he isn't, but he _is_ running for his life.

Kaida: GET BACK HERE!!! (Runs after him)

Rhea: Poor Murphy.

Kioko: I'm not too fussed, personally.

Rhea: Oh well, who wants to do the FAQ!?

Everyone: (raises hand)

Rhea: Mmmmm, Monigan! You haven't done it in a while, go for it.

Monigan: _YES!!!_

Q: When's the Dark Prince gonna show up!?!?!?

A: _Soon, but not soon enough for my tastes._

Q: Is Kaida ever going to get use to being around crowds?

A:_ Heheheh, not if I can help it._

Prince: (Twitch, twitch) Well, you CAN'T!

Q: You're all horrible, how could you make Kaida suffer like that when she was only a kid?!

A:_ Because she was so cute when she screamed and cried._

Prince: _Killlllll…_

Q: You know if she dies you die too, why do you keep wanting to kill her!?

A: _Well, let me tell you—OH NO LOOK, A CONVENIENT DISTRACTION!_

Q: Where!?

A: _You're an idiot._

Q: I hate you.

A:_ That's not a question._

Q: FINE! What's the answer to life, the universe, and everything!?

A: _42, didn't you read the last fic? Kaida answers that question herself._

Rhea: Okay, I think that's enough for today.

Monigan: _But we were having so much fun!_

Rhea: No. Until next time!


	5. A Suddenly Overactive Imagination

A/N: Do, dododo, do do dododo doooooo…

XP

There was a knock on my door the next morning, something which surprised me, and also made the two of us panic. I snatched up one of the silk robes that had been placed into this room for me and tied it tightly while making furious motions for the prince to hide. In a flash he was able to get his pants back on and ran out to the balcony while I made sure the robe covered everything in the mirror (even though it really wasn't meant to), and walked over to the door.

I opened it, and found a very handsome man calmly waiting for me to answer. His appearance surprised me, he was dressed in royal garb, white with gold trimmings, and he also had a head of long platinum hair that he allowed to grow down to his shoulders. His eyes were blue, like the prince's, and he was tall with dark skin and appeared as though he had just shaved every single hair off his face, leaving it all on his head. He had, in his hand, a small, ornate chest, and gave me a small bow.

"My apologies for the sudden visit, madam. But you see, I heard that my cousin had finally returned home, and with a woman whose hair was the color of fire, I had to see it for myself, and pay my respects. May I come in?" He asked, dipping down and kissing my hand in true prince-charming fashion.

"I…I guess." I said, rather uncomfortably. If there was a way to politely refuse, I didn't know it, and I only hoped I would be able to get rid of him. I stepped aside to let him enter, and then closed the door behind us.

He smiled at me, and held out the small chest for me to take. "What's this for?" I asked him.

"It's for you, a gift. I would have given it to my cousin, but I'm afraid he wasn't in his room when I came to call. Likely he's out taking an early morning stroll in the gardens. It's been so long since I've seen him though, but it's his own fault. Perhaps if you don't want it, you can give it to him for me, but it's really not the sort of thing that I like to keep for myself." He told me.

"That's very kind of you, but I'm afraid I can't except this." I said, holding it out to him, "I don't even know you, I wouldn't feel comfortable taking this, even if I _did_ give it to the prince from you. I don't want to rob you of the chance to give it to him yourself. But I do appreciate the gesture." I said.

He looked lightly put out about this, but recovered himself and took the chest back, "I understand. I suppose this _is_ rather forward of me, my name is Keilic, by the way. And you?" He asked.

"Kaida." I answered, "Kaida Megowan." I told him.

"Ah, so is that the name of the land that you are from?" he asked, perking up with interest.

"No, it's my family name. Though it really has no point around here, I guess."

"Ah, I see. So where _do_ you come from?" He asked, sitting down and gesturing for me to do the same.

Resigned to the fact that I was going to have to make polite conversation, I sat down as far away from him as I thought I could get away with, which was about a yard or two from the space he had been patting. "Oh," I said, "Here and there."

He grinned and chuckled, "A mysterious woman, I see. Tell me, how did you and my cousin come to find each other? I'm afraid rumors can only tell me so much, they say you saved his life and are responsible for his returning home, I think I speak for all of Babylon when I say thank you, but I'd like to know more, if I can."

I considered this request for a moment, and then began my story.

X3

Once upon a time, there was the Prince of Persia! He had mad acrobatic skillz and a shiny sword, which he liked to swing around a lot. _Shwang_! And he swung it around so much that he had actually perfected the art of hitting stuff and making it die.

One day he left his kingdom for seven years, not telling anyone where he was going. "I must find the island of bananas!" He said to himself, "For I have been cursed by the Banana Queen, I won't say how, not even to myself, because it would be a rather inappropriate thing to say in my own company, and myself might not appreciate my mentioning it."

And so he set off to find the Island of Bananas, this took him seven years because it was ridiculously out of place, and he was also being chased by an angry chicken whose mother he insulted, and was now out for revenge. Unfortunately this mad chicken, whose name was Bawaka, was a very big chicken, and the prince, with all his thwacking experience, did not have a powerful enough sword to defend himself against this chicken.

The prince set sail for distant lands, with Bawaka in hot pursuit using a giant surf board, that's a long piece of treated wood that one can use to ride across big waves. Finally he found an old man who knew where the Island of Bananas was. "I'm afraid that even if you reach the island with that giant mad chicken on your tail, you'll still have to deal with the Banana Queen, and she's a psycho b(beep) from what I've heard." He said.

"Bah, I laugh in the face of the impossible!" The prince declared.

"Uh…I don't remember saying it was impossible, but yeah, sure, we'll go with that. And you're stupid and stuff for trying."

"Shut up, old man, you smell!" The prince said. And, after making the old man sob in shame at his own slinkiness, decided to back away slowly and high-tail it to the Island of Bananas.

When he neared the island a ship made entirely out of bananas attempted to stop him. Then a woman wearing nothing but rotten banana peals came out and ordered her banana minions to destroy the ship and kill the prince. The prince came after her. "You shall never reach the Island of Bananas!" She declared. And they fought with their shiny swords. Unfortunately the prince accidentally slipped on a banana peal and went overboard.

Luckily for him, at that precise moment, one of the gods was currently attempting to get dressed, which was proving very difficult as he had somehow managed to gain five kazillion pounds overnight. He was struggling with his tunic when he knocked the potted plant that was at his window seal right out of his open window, where it plummeted from heaven down to earth. The potted plant, waking up after a long nap, realized what was happening to it and screamed, as you might expect one to do while falling from three trillion miles in the air. But it's scream was interpreted as a mating cry by a whale that was minding its own business, and just as the prince was sinking to his death, the whale swam up to meet whatever hot babe was calling, only to have the prince land on its head. He was so irritated that he blew the prince all the way to the Island of Bananas, where the prince woke up and decided to go looking for the b(beep) wearing the rotten banana peels.

Along the way he ran right into a girl with red hair who was fighting banana minions with a pink flamingo. "Whoa, you're ugly." He told her.

"Excuse me?" She demanded, smacking him across the face with her pink flamingo.

"Still ugly." He told her. She whacked him again, "Getting there." He said, dizzy. She whacked him several more times, "Hey there beautiful, what's a girl like you doing in a place like this?" He asked her, practically blind from all the whacking she did to him.

"That's _better_." She said, "I'm here because the b(beep) in the banana peels stole my ring and I have to get it back! You can come with me if you want, we could team up in a non-romantic fashion and fight against the banana minions to get to the Banana Queen!"

"What's so special about the ring she took form you?" the prince asked her, earning himself another whack from her pink flamingo.

"You fool! It is special because it is The One Ring! The One Ring to RULE THEM AAALLL!!! And only with The One Ring can I defeat Bawaka, who is also after me for the sole purpose of this bad plot device!" She answered him.

"Okay, onward then!" The prince declared, running into a wall due to too many hits in the head with the girl's pink flamingo.

After having his head cleared, the prince and the girl both pressed on, fighting the banana minions, whom all coward before the pink flamingo, which was the only reason why she was any help whatsoever, because otherwise the prince would have killed her himself to cut down on the amount of work he had to do to keep her alive.

They finally caught up with the woman in the rotten banana peels. "Haha! You cannot defeat me, for _I_ am the Banana Queen!" She declared.

"No you're not!" Exclaimed the girl.

"What!? How did you know!?" Demanded the woman.

"Because the Banana Queen has breasts the size of fully grown cocoanuts, and yours don't come close!" She answered.

"Curse it! Well, I shall defeat you anyway!" And they fought the woman. Unfortunately for her, she, too, was no match for the pink flamingo weapon, and she soon fell pray to it.

"My ring!" Declared the girl, rescuing it from the woman in banana peals. "By the way, I forgot to ask your name." She said.

"I'm not going to tell you my name," The prince said, "Because I want to be all mysterious and stuff. Women like a man who's mysterious."

"No, actually, women like a man that can cook and juggle bananas." She told him.

"And how would you know?" He demanded.

"Because I _am_ a woman, you dolt!" She answered.

"WHAT!? YOU _LIED_ TO ME!?" The prince exclaimed.

"You can't tell!?" Demanded the girl.

"No, not really." He answered, and she gave him another thwack with her pink flamingo, "Oh! Now I see! Wow, how did I miss _that_?"

"Stop staring at my boobs!" She exclaimed, and she thwacked him again.

Unfortunately she thwacked him so much that it took several hours before they could get into the throne room where the Banana Queen was. But she wasn't there. "Where's the Banana Queen!?" Demanded the prince.

"Actually, _I'm_ the banana queen, I just didn't want to tell you because it wasn't _me_ who put the curse on you, it was the banana-peal b(beep) who was trying to steal my throne that did it." She told him.

"So the curse has been lifted!?" The prince exclaimed.

"Not yet, it'll take about three days for the gods to get around to lifting it, they had a big huge party the other day and they're all drunk, and they can't do anything with hangovers _that_ bad. But yeah, it's been broken." She answered.

"So what was all that about the Banana Queen having enormous boobs?!" Demanded the Prince.

"Oh, I made all that up." She answered. The prince moaned, earning himself another thwack with the pink flamingo.

Suddenly, the throne room wall busted open, and there was Bawaka.

"You b(beep)!!! You know how long it took me to get that wall fixed after the _last_ giant chicken came charging through it!?" Demanded the Banana Queen.

"Quick girl whose name I don't know and don't care about! You said the ring will defeat Bawaka! Use it and save us from having ourselves pecked until we are made extremely uncomfortable for the next two weeks!" exclaimed the prince.

"What? Oh right!" And the Banana Queen then slipped the ring onto her pink flamingo, which grew to the size of Bawaka and came to life.

"Oh Bawaka!" It said, "I love you so much! Let's make babies!" And with a shrill scream of pure terror, Bawaka ran away from the flamingo, never to bother the prince or Banana Queen ever again for fear of the pinkness of the flamingo.

"So," Said the prince, "Will you marry me?"

"Sorry Prince, I'm afraid I can't marry someone who doesn't have a name. Also, I'm lesbian, I'd rather have sex with other women."

"That's okay, I don't like you anyways. You're too ugly for me, but will you come to Babylon anyway so I can pretend I do just to watch my father have a heart attack?" He asked.

"Alright, sure, but only because I've got nothing better to do." She answered.

And they lived…ever after!

X3

Keilic was in tears, he could hardly breath from laughing so hard, "That," He gasped, "Did NOT happen!" He exclaimed.

"Believe what you want." I said, shrugging.

"Are you trying to tell me that _you're_ the Banana Queen?" He demanded, practically hyperventilating from how much he was laughing.

"Who me? Oh no, I'm the girl that came along later and ate the _real_ Banana Queen so that I could become the Banana Queen myself. It didn't work too well, even though I got the red hair, but don't tell the prince that, he doesn't know." I answered. Keilic busted out with another round of uncontrollable laughter.

"You made that entire thing up, but I sincerely doubt that I would be able to enjoy the true story quite this much." Keilic said.

"Actually," Said an amused voice from the balcony, "The true story is just as interesting, if not quite as…funny." Said the prince, pretending to have only gotten there when I began telling the story, and looking as though he'd laughed much more than Keilic had. Of course, it was funnier for him, because he knew what _really_ happened.

"Ah! _There_ you are, cousin! How long have you been lurking on the lady's balcony?" Asked Keilic, still laughing.

"Long enough to hear her, ah, 'account' of the events." The prince said, plopping on down next to me and grinning over at me, "'Bawaka'?" He asked, and I just grinned and shrugged, "So what would your 'pink flamingo's name be?" He asked.

"Kukwakin." I answered.

The prince, also, was in tears.

"Alright now, there's more to this story I can tell, what have you been up to these past seven years, cousin?" Keilic asked.

"Don't worry, Keilic, I promise to tell you everything, or most of it anyway, but only if you swear not to repeat any of it to Father. I told _him_ that I left to seek honor and glory, and also to learn more about the world we live in. And while I have learned a great deal, that is not the whole truth of how we met, and what _is_ true was…a bit warped." He said.

"So there was actually some _truth_ to that tale?" Keilic asked, almost incredulously.

"Not much, but enough that if you knew the whole story, it would be that much more funny." The prince answered.

"Unfortunately, I'm afraid some aspects of the 'whole story' are almost as unbelievable as my banana story." I told him.

"Yes, and I imagine that some parts of the 'whole story' are private and cannot be disclosed even to cousins, seeing as how the prince said he'd tell me _most_ of it." He said.

"Yes, that's right, but not for the reasons that _you're_ thinking of, you pervert." I told him, snickering.

"You know, I wonder what _would_ happen if you put that ring of yours on the pink flamingo." The prince commented.

"Probably nothing, but we could try it to find out." I said.

"Wait, so there really_ is_ a pink flamingo? _And_ a ring?" Asked Keilic.

"Yeah, it's right here." I said, whipping out the pink flamingo with a flourish and waving it at him.

Keilic's eyes went wide, "Where…did that, come from?" He asked slowly.

"Do you really want me to answer that? Because I could think up a list of things to—"

"No! No that's fine!" Keilic said, raising his hands and laughing, "And is that the ring on your finger there?" He asked.

"Yes, it is, but I never take this one off. I have another though." I said, pulling out the copy ring as well.

"I thought you said it was the _one_ ring. Why's there two of them?" Asked Keilic, looking as though he were looking forward to whatever explanation I had for that.

"I'll tell you later, go ahead put it on." The prince urged.

"Alright, but if it turns into a giant pink flamingo, it's _your_ castle, remember." I said, and I slipped the ring onto the flamingo's legs.

Nothing happened, but we did laugh about it. And I had a moment to space out and think of what might have happen if anything _did_.

X3

The flamingo's previously lifeless eyes began to shimmer with dark power, glow red as the flamingo itself twitched and came to life. We all stared at it, and it looked at each one of us with distain. Then it spoke, in a deep, echoing, growling voice that did _not_ match its pink appearance. **"I am Sarron, the Dark Lord of Mordor. I have crafted the One Ring, the One Ring, to rule them all! The ring which you have in your possession belongs to me, return it to me, and you shall be rewarded beyond your wildest dreams."** It said smoothly.

We all stared at it, me with my eyes wide, and I was the first to actually speak, "Awww, what a gyp! I was hoping at _least_ for Golum."

**"Were you? And what, do you suppose, you could possibly gain from that maggot?"**

"I…am not entirely sure I know what's going on? Either of you care to explain?" Asked Keilic.

"I don't know either. Kaida?" The prince said.

"I think we inadvertently managed to channel the spirit of the Ring's creator. Hate to break it to you, Sarron, but you're not on Third Earth anymore." I told him.

The flamingo's eyes widened, **"What do you mean, woman?"** He asked.

I startted snickering, "Say hello to your new body, Sarron." I said, and I turned him in my hand so that he could look in the full length mirror.

Sarron gave an almighty cry of outrage and began struggling to get out of my grip. I let him go, the Ring still on his leg, **"THIS IS AN OUTRAGE!!! I DEMAND YOU GIVE ME BACK MY ORIGINAL BODY NOW!!!" **He exclaimed.

"I wouldn't have any idea how to do that, and even if I did, do you think I'm _stupid_? I know _exactly_ who you are, even if these two _don't_. I'm not fool enough to give you anything." I said, grabbing him by the neck. "Sorry, Sarron, but I'm taking the ring back. I might bring you back if I get bored though." I said, taking its foot and slipping the ring back off. Almost at once the flamingo jerked back into its original position.

X3

My imagination was becoming a bit overactive…

XP

Kioko: No, _your_ imagination is a bit overactive!!!

Rhea: Okay, so I'm giving Kaida some of my brain, is that such a bad thing?

Kaida: YES!!! I don't want to be like _you_!!!

Rhea: (sniff) You're all so mean ;.;

Prince: I want to know where that whole thing _came from_!

Rhea: Um, my brain?

Prince: Yeah, well, I figured _that_ much!

Kioko: I think I'll do the FAQ this time.

Rhea: Okidoki.

Q: Uh oh, is this Keilic gonna become a new love interest for Kaida that we're all going to hate?

A: No, not really.

Q: What was he doing in her room?

A: Attempting to _become_ a new love interest for Kaida that we're all going to hate, but that's really not going to happen I don't think.

Keilic: So, what, I'm not good enough for that?

A: No, not really.

Keilic: ;.;

Q: Are we going to have some actual action in this fic sometime soon?

A: Uh _yeah_, definitely. Just wait and see.

Q: When's the Dark Prince going to show up?!

A: Um, from what Rhea has drawn up here…(Pulls up piece of paper that is not only a very messy and incoherent outline of the story, but has been doodled on with pictures of Kaida and the Prince kissing)…(tosses paper away) He'll probably show up in the 8th chapter.

Q: That's too long.

A: I know, and Rhea needs to give him a bigger part, but he really doesn't have that quite yet, he _does_ become a really nice plot device, though. So at least we have _that_.

Rhea: Well, that's it for now. Everyone check out the newest addition to the Dark Dreams saga! Dark Dreams 0: The Drabbles of Time.

Kioko: Dear gods, _this_ will be interesting!


	6. The Warrior Within

A/N: Time for some _action_! W00t!!!

XP

Once I kicked the prince and his cousin out of my room I was able to get _properly_ dressed, and the two boys decided to give me a tour of the castle, which would also allow Keilic to get the prince himself up-to-date about what all was going on.

"A lot's happened since you've left, Cousin. It may not seem like it, and I doubt the king told you on your first day back home, but we are currently at war with India." Keilic said.

The prince's attention snapped into high gear, "With India?! Why?" He asked.

"The Maharaja apparently thinks that we stole a certain treasure from him, and is demanding that it be returned. I'm sad to say that he's become pretty nasty about it, and no one even knows what this treasure is suppose to be. Your father has been focusing on making sure we have a good defense, but the trade routs to Azad have been cut off, and it's been hurting the city. The king's becoming rather tired of it, and has been hinting about overtaking the city to expand our territory, _and_ get rid of a threat." He answered.

"No!" The prince said, almost too swiftly. Keilic and I both looked at him, "What, what I mean is," He said, trying to recover himself, "If we waged war and conquered India, we might make some unwanted enemies of India's allies and…I just don't feel it would be a good idea." He said. Right, uh huh, sure. And you don't want Farah to be effected by it either Princy.

I tried to feel relief at the fact that he still remembered, and cared about, Farah, or anything resembling hope, and which _wasn't_ the coiling knot of jealousy that was attempting to make itself known in my chest. I fought against it, and was able to put on an adequate show of confusion at his sudden reluctance to war with India.

"Well," Said Keilic, as though now wondering about the prince's sanity, "If you don't think it's a good idea, I imagine you went to India yourself in your travels on a visit." He said, and he grinned at the prince, "Let me guess, you became rather fond of the city and would prefer it not to be wasted in war?" He asked.

"Yeah, I suppose." The prince said, smiling weakly.

"I'm afraid it'll take more than that to convince your father, his advisors are all for the overtaking of India, you'll want to come up with a really good reason." He said.

"Are you sure you don't know what this treasure _is_ that was supposedly stolen?" I asked.

"If that _is_ known, then no one's bothered to inform _me_. You'll have to ask the king himself." Answered Keilic.

"It must have been _something_ if they're prepared to go to war over it." I mused.

"Maybe the Maharaja's daughter got kidnapped, I hear she's quite beautiful. Not as beautiful as you are, of course." He said, giving me a sweeping bow.

"You're sweet, stop it." I told him, and he laughed.

There was an odd look in the prince's eyes when he, too, chuckled. And it didn't take a rocket scientist to figure out what that was. I think it probably went something like this: Farah, Farah, Farah, Farah, Farah.

Well, sort of. A war with India would mean a good chance he might see her again, and if he did, if, say, I realize he had feelings for her, what would I do? Get jealous or try to convince him that _she's_ the better woman? I wondered myself which one he might prefer, that is, if that's what he was thinking, because I was pretty sure it was. That's what _I_ would be thinking in his position after all.

I was given a rather downscaled tour, because both prince and cousin seemed eager to get to the training grounds, and I wanted to see them too. I was, of course, interested to see how these Persians learned to do stuff like wall runs and to jump upwards from one wall to another.

Unfortunately all I saw when we got there was a bunch of shirtless guys having at it with each other with swords. "Bah, I could fight my way out of hell, where's the acrobat training?" I asked.

Keilic gave me a rather patronizing smile, and was probably about to make some comment about him not quite believing me, but then he stopped, and turned to the prince, "She can, can't she?" He asked.

The prince nodded, "And she's as strong as any man too." He answered.

"Yeah, you would know, wouldn't cha?" I said, smirking at him.

"Your Majesties!" Exclaimed a man who looked like he was in charge, seeing as he had the shiniest sword and was actually wearing some decent leather armor. He bowed low to the two men, smiling, "It has been far too long, Prince, it is good to see you back. I hope you're skills haven't suffered these past seven years." He said.

"I'll let you be the judge of that, Orzan." The prince said, grinning.

Orzan chuckled, "Is that a challenge my prince? Well, I look forward to it! I've been having to deal with so many unskilled hot-heads it's almost maddening. But, ah, Your Majesties, I don't believe this is really any place for a Lady." He said, glancing over at me.

I looked at him in mock confusion for a moment, and then I looked over my shoulder to see who else was there, and then looked back, feigning surprise, "Oh! He means _me_ doesn't he?" I asked.

"Kaida, please don't make a big deal about this, he's never seen you fight, alright? How's he suppose to know you _can_?" The prince said.

"Well excuse me for not enjoying it when I'm discriminated against because out of freak chance I was born a_ girl_ rather than a _boy_. It's not like _I_ had any control over it, that was my _parents'_ fault." I said, crossing my arms over my chest and rolling my eyes.

"You would do better," Orzan said calmly, "To speak to your prince more respectfully." His tone was cool, but I could tell he had decided that he didn't think much of me, and though his words were for me, he wasn't speaking _to_ me, he was speaking _at_ me, and not even looking at me either.

"So that's how it's going to be, is it?" I asked coldly.

"Kaida, no. Orzan _please_, Kaida is a very capable fighter, I promise you. She deserves more respect than that. And Kaida, you're not going to make many friends like this." The prince told me.

"No Prince, you stay out of this. If I want respect, it looks like I'm going to have to _earn_ it." I said.

"And just how do you expect to do that?" Asked Orzan, still not looking at me.

"How else? I challenge you to a battle." I said. _That_ got his attention. _Now_ he was staring at me.

"Kaida, _please_, you don't—"

"_Stay out of this._" I snarled, and the prince backed away, deciding to let me handle myself.

"Oh?" Orzan sneered, "And why should I accept this challenge? I am not one to sink as low as to strike a lady, what if I refused?" He asked.

"I'm _sorry_, I forgot the part where you had a _choice_ in the matter." I said.

Orzan's face colored, he looked ready to kill, "Your majesty," He said, "I don't know what your relationship with this woman is, but such a tongue cannot be tolerated. I would like your permission to take her up on her challenge, though I promise you I shall not kill her, I cannot promise any more than that."

"Orzan, I'm afraid to tell you this, because I know it's going to upset you…but it's not _her_ I'm worried about." The prince said, and Orzan turned to look at him sharply.

"I would like to remind you, Highness, that not even _you_ have yet managed to beat me, are you now doubting my abilities?" He asked, trying to keep his tone respectful through his anger and indignation.

"_Yet_, Orzan, _yet_. A lot has happened in 7 years. I do _not_ doubt your abilities or your skill, but I have seen Kaida fight, and I know for a fact that she's as strong as most men, and stronger than some. And I know that underestimating her like you are is going to cost you." The prince answered.

"Very well then." Orzan said in a quiet voice, and he turned his flaming glare upon me, "Follow me to the Arena, and we'll settle this _properly_, _my lady_." He said, spiting out that last part.

When he ordered the two men that were currently having at it with each other in a large ring carved into the ground, they all thought, seeing their prince, that the two of _them_ would be fighting, and started cheering. It was only when _I_ entered the ring that the noise died away, and whispers replaced it. "Don't you think you should get a _sword_?" Asked Orzan tauntingly.

"I have my own weapons." I said, crossing my fists in front of me, and then jerking them down at my sides, pushing out my blades as I did so.

Orzan refused to allow his surprise to show, and instead he raised his own two swords in a defensive position, "I'll give you the courtesy of making the first move." He said.

"How very kind of you." I said. I sprinted towards him, and our swords clashed.

For a while, all he did was block, and I let him. I wasn't trying to get through his guard, more like testing the waters, figuring out his moves and his speed. I even let him kick me back, only to flip in mid air, make a graceful landing, and come right back after him. There was complete silence as I continued to make 'attempts' at getting through his defenses. He tried a half-hearted sweep of his own sword, just to knick me in the ribs, but I countered it, and he paid for his laps of concentration when I cut through his leather armor with one blade and nicked his cheek with the other.

He was good enough not to allow himself to be frustrated by this maneuver, and regained himself, putting a little bit more heart into his defenses, and attempting to counter one of _my_ hits, but when he did there wasn't nearly enough force in it and I dodged and blocked his swipes without trouble. But then _he_ started coming after _me_ with his blades, and it was my turn to start blocking.

It was only when I caught his leg as he tried to kick me out of the ring and actually used it to throw _him_ outside did he realize that _I_ had been going easy on _him_. "Maybe this time you'll fight me for _real_." I said, moving back into the center of the ring to wait for him to return, even though, technically, I had just won by throwing him out.

"Very well then." He growled, jumping back up, and this time coming after me with the intention of finishing this fight.

But only then did the _real_ battle begin. He swiftly realized that the supposed male strength advantage he thought he had over me was nonexistent, and stopped holding back, just as I stopped holding back, well, sort of.

The thing was I was use to fighting against opponents who's intention was to kill me, and fighting, also, with the intention to kill. This time I didn't _want_ to kill, so many of the moves and maneuvers I had obtained during my stay in the Island of Time I couldn't use. I only had a slight strength advantage, not enough to count, but my swords, as Kaileena had said, had only gotten stronger, sharper, and more powerful with use. I was also faster than he was, and found myself in positions where the moves I knew would have ended his life that very second. I did _not_ want to kill him, no matter how appealing the idea was, that would be a very bad idea. But it did limit me somewhat, and I imagine it limited him as well for he did not intend to kill me either. But that was a handicap we both shared, and I was still beating him. Not easily, mind you, he was a _very_ good swordsman, but I was winning.

How do I know? Well it becomes a bit obvious after your opponent has suffered a large number of cuts while he's yet to even knick you, _and_ when you kick him out of the ring several times to yell at him to stop holding back, when you know very well he _isn't_.

Also, he was beginning to sweat, and I could tell that fatigue was slowly overtaking him, while I could have gone on for quite a bit longer. The entire day, as had once been the case while still on the Island of Time. He would often try to roll around me to get to my back, but I would do an aerial back flip right over him, grab _him_ from behind, and throw him to the ground, then wait for him to get back on his feet.

Finally, I knocked both swords out of his hands with a single joint-swipe of my blades, grabbed him, and flipped him over in the air so that he landed, hard, on his chest, and before he could get up I slammed my boot down onto his back and crossed my swords so that they made an X before coming down into the earth at either side of his neck. If he moved, if _I_ moved, he would be dead, and he realized this as I felt his breath still.

"Kill me then." He murmured, "Kill me, woman, if you _can_." He spat.

"If I _wanted_ to kill you." I told him in a dangerous voice, "You would have been dead fifteen minutes ago. I'm not like most of the amateurs you _been_ dealing with, I learned to use these swords in an environment where my enemies had every intention of killing me, and whom found their own deaths at my blades." I pulled them back out of the ground and back into my wrists while I took my foot off Orzan and stepped back to let him get up. "Enemies." I went on, "Who were not even _human_."

This had the dramatic effect I had been hoping for, and once I felt satisfied that Orzan wasn't going to try and prolong the fight anymore, I spun on my heel, my back to him, and walked out of the ring, not looking at anyone.

"_Wait_." Said Orzan. I stopped, and turned around to face him. His back was still to me, but he turned and walked towards me. He then got on one knee before me, and bowed, "For many, many years I have yet to meet my match in any man, and when I am finally defeated, it is by a woman. I've just been humiliated in front of the soldiers I have been working hard to train, and have lost my prince's respect for treating you as a woman, when I should have taken his word, and treated you like the warrior that you are. I apologize for my behavior towards you. If those tattoos upon your body are the markings of a great warrior in your land, then I don't believe I have ever fought anyone more worthy of them." He said.

I felt as though a heavy weight had been lifted off of my shoulders, and I let myself smile down at his bowed head, "Apology excepted." I said in a far more light tone of voice than I had used previously, causing him to look up into my face, "Now that I've finally gotten my point across, I think we can put this behind us and start over. Hello, my name is Kaida, it's nice to meet you." I said, extending my hand to him.

Orzan stood up, smiling himself, and he took it. We gave each other a short, but firm shake, and the next thing either of us knew our audience was cheering.

"Remind me never to get on your bad side!" Keilic exclaimed above the noise, placing his hand on my shoulder.

"Hey, hey, hey, I found her first, back off." The prince said, waving Keilic's hand away from my shoulder, for which I was immensely grateful.

The prince, his cousin, and I accompanied Orzan to the doctor's tent so that he could have his wounds cleaned up, and we might have ourselves at least the semblance of privacy. "I _did_ try to warn you, Orzan." The prince said, but now that the ordeal was over, we could all look back on it in good humor, and he was grinning.

"You did, and I took your words as meaningless patter meant only to humor Kaida, I apologize." He said.

"Ah, you _did_ boil that water before dipping your rag into it, didn't you?" I asked the doctor, who was now dabbing at Orzan's wounds.

He looked at me as though I were crazy, "_Boil_ it? Of _course_ not, that would only agitate the wound!" He exclaimed.

"On the contrary, it'd be better to let the wound burn than to clean it with infected water. In fact you really should do that, there'll be less chance of those cuts getting infected if you burned them. At least use some alcohol for the love of the gods!" I said.

"_Alcohol_, are you _mad_ woman!?" Exclaimed the doctor, giving me a look of utter incredulity.

I slapped myself in the forehead, "Alcohol _kills_ the stuff that cause the wounds to become infected, as does burning it! _Trust_ me, you'll have a much longer list of recovered patients if you take my advice." I said.

The doctor simply shook his head at me, but I decided not to press the issue. If he didn't want to make the medical breakthrough of history, that was fine by me. Let him stew in ignorance for all I care.

"Now that you know how dangerous this woman can be, perhaps you'd like to know how incredibly delightful she can be as well!" Keilic said happily, "Kaida, tell Orzan the banana story!" He exclaimed.

"The _what_ story?" Orzan demanded.

"Oh no, no, no, not the banana story. I'll loose all the respect he just gave me if I tell him that." I said, shaking my head as the prince started laughing.

"I am intrigued, what is the 'banana story'?" Asked Orzan.

"A completely made-up version of events which lead to her and our dear prince meeting one another." Keilic said, "I'd tell it myself, but I wouldn't be able to keep a straight face like she did, and I would probably ruin it utterly."

"Also, that story doesn't particularly make _me_ look very good either." The prince pointed out.

"You want I should tell another one?" I asked, and then a very evil, sinister thought crossed my mind, "Maybe a back story about Bawaka and Kukwakin's _children_?" I asked innocently.

The prince's eyes shot open, and he stared at me in horror, "That didn't, that's not, completely made up, right?!" He exclaimed.

"Well, for _now_. But at the rate _they're_ going—"

"STOP!!! I DID NOT NEED TO HEAR THAT!!!" He cried, slamming his head against the wall, and quite alarming the three others in the room. I, however, was laughing my head off.

"There's a…double meaning to this that I'm not getting, isn't there?" Keilic asked slowly.

"_Oooooh_ you have _no_ idea." I said.

"I'm going to have _nightmares_ for the rest of my _life_! _Thank you_ for those mental images!" The prince exclaimed, pulling on his hair.

"You're welcome!" I said, quite cheerfully, and this time both Keilic _and_ Orzan laughed.

"I never knew a woman with the ability to make you loose your composure like this, My Prince. Of course, I never knew a woman who could hold a sword, much less _use_ it, so it seems the new addition to our city is simply _full_ of surprises." Orzan laughed.

"Yeah, about that, will you _quit doing that_?!" The prince demanded.

"Only when you stop making it so much fun to watch you squirm." I said.

"You're definition of 'fun' is disturbing." The prince informed me.

"So are a lot of other things about me that are disturbing, but I don't hear you complaining about _those_. At least not out loud. Anything else you need to get off your chest about me now that we have an audience?" I asked.

"No, no, that's about it for the time being." He answered.

"The two of you sound like the best of friends. I'm almost jealous." Keilic said, grinning at us.

"Well, we _are_ friends." I answered, "Princy over here's the first friend I ever had. Not that he had much choice in the matter." I said, smirking.

"I had a choice." He said defensively, though he was still grinning, "I could have just as easily treated _you_ as an enemy as well."

"Bah, you'd have been running around in _circles_ in that place if it wasn't for me. _Admit_ it, you needed me." I told him.

"Never." He said, grinning.

"What?" I demanded, looking at the rather cheesy grins that Keilic and Orzan had just shared.

"Nothing!" Keilic answered innocently.

Yeah, right. As if I didn't know _exactly_ what was going through their heads at this display. Probably something along the lines of that we were perfect for each other, or that we loved each other but were both in complete denial.

Too bad neither assumptions were true…

XP

Rhea: Okay let's get the FAQ out of the way for this chapter because I have something to say at the end!!!

Kioko: Okay, who gets to do it?

Rhea: Hmmmm, how about, the Dahaka!?

Everyone: NO!!!

Rhea: Fine, fine, I was gonna let Keilic do it anyway.

Keilic: Me? But I don't know the first thing about FAQs!

Kioko: It's pretty straightforward, they ask a question, and you answer it.

Keilic: But, but, WHO asks the question!?

Kioko: huh…you know that's a good point, Rhea? Do you know?

Rhea: Let the FAQ begin!!!

Q: Is Farah going to make an appearance in the story!?

A: Um, I don't, er…(looks at Rhea, she nods), Um, yes! Yes she will!

Q: So what was stolen from India?

A: Er, I don't really know…um…

Rhea: Don't bother answering that one, they should know already.

A: Er, okay.

Q: Kaida defeated Orzan a bit too easily, what the crap!?

Kaida: Uh, that wasn't easy!

Q: You still defeated the greatest warrior in Babylon. (Mutters) Mary-Sue…

Kaida: (twitch, twitch) Alright, FIRSTLY! I have been fighting for I dunno _how_ long on the Island of Freak'n Time, SECONDLY! I have _Sacrosanct_ over here making me more powerful. THIRDLY! I have the ONE RING TO RULE THEM ALL on my finger!!! And FOURTHLY! I am the Empress of Freak'n TIME! That constitutes as a POWER BOOST!!! Princy and I are about evenly matched, I think. Don't know because we haven't fought against one another yet, I would probably have to use my sand form to defeat him, and that would be cheating because that there is a MAJOR power boost. And note that some of THAT strength transfers over to my human form. SO IT ISN'T AS THOUGH I DID THAT ON MY OWN DANGIT!!! And if you accuse me of being a Mary-Sue again, I will rip out your vocal cords and strangle you with them.

A: Such a sweet-tempered young lady she is…

Kaida: Watch it buddy.

A: Yes ma'am!

Q: Is Keilic going to try playing Matchmaker now?

A: I wouldn't know the first thing about how to do that but I can always try!

Kaida: - -' Dork.

Rhea: Okay that's all for now! Now for what I was going to say!

Kioko: Yeah, no one cares.

Rhea: I'LL BET THEY WILL!!! Ahem. The other day I actually got a LOT of stuff done, I mean, it was crazy man, I was on freak'n FAYA! And as a result, I had around 3 chapters finished in ONE DAY. It was crazy, but I like to just keep it a chapter a day, so I have these other chapters all written out, and though I DO keep myself at least a few chapters ahead to make sure I have something to post in case there's a day when I'm unable to write anything, still, THREE CHAPTERS. So this is what I'm going to do. Once I get 3 to 4 reviews for this chapter, I'm going to post the next one, TODAY, and if I get 3 to 4 reviews for THAT chapter, I'll post the NEXT one, TODAY! So there's a possibility of being THREE UPDATES today. But only if I get enough reviews man! Last chapter I only got, like _2_! I was so shocked! DON'T YOU GUYS LOVE ME ANYMORE!? WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHH!!!! But anyway, so make sure you review! I'm not asking much! Just 3 or 4 reviews is all!!!

Kioko: _I_ would have shot for _6_, personally.

Rhea: Nah, the PoP fanfics aren't exactly as popular as others, so I'm not even going to bother with that. See you next chapter! Which, hopefully, will be sometime today!!!


	7. Dreams of the Empress

A/N: Well, I got three reviews! I guess I'll give you guys the next chapter now. Keep them coming yo!

XP

**There was fire, golden flames licking at anything they could reach, searing, _burning_. A fire of passion, of hatred, of ambition. Eyes of cruelty engulfed the golden flames, turning them black, turning them red like blood. The flames sank, becoming blood, becoming a sea of red that created a river-like pathway to a destination I was forced to follow. Slipping and sliding, trying to keep my balance while running, running towards one thing, and away from another. **

**There was an opening, a window, where the blood flowed freely into, a curved hole filled with light. I dove into it, and rolled along the hard smooth ground that did not seem to belong. **

**And then I looked up. Within the walls of a room which could only belong to a palace, a lone woman was shooting arrow after arrow at creatures that I knew only too well. Sand Raiders, coming after her, laughing at her fruitless attempts to fight them back. She was loosing. **

**My blades sang through the air as three Sand Raiders found their death at my hands in a matter of seconds. The rest jumped back to regroup, and then came after us once again. They were no match for me, and the arrows that were sent their way hit their targets dead center. The raiders kept coming, but they were loosing. **

**The woman and I stood back to back, waiting for more to come, but instead, laughter filled the room, and the familiar figure of none other than Shahdee approached us. "Come, Princess, come Empress, you will know both your fate." She said, laughing. **

**"Who _are_ you!? _What_ are you!?" Demanded the 'Princess' at my side, notching another arrow into her bow. **

**"Don't think you can scare us with that, Shahdee. I know that fate is not unchangeable. I changed Kaileena's fate, I will change my own." I told her. **

**"You only took her fate upon yourself! You _will_ die!" She cried, and with a yell she came after us. **

**She was much stronger, much faster, and much more powerful than I remembered her being. I could not simply kick her back as easily as before, and she was somehow able to dodge most of the princess's arrows. Her eyes were glowing red as we battled, our swords clashing, shrieking, screaming against one another. Our blades locked, and we struggled to push the other back. But this was exactly what I'd needed to do all along. Shahdee allowed herself to be kept in one place for too long, and the princess's arrow shot straight into her temple, and I threw her back. **

**"One of you…" She gasped, "One of you must die." **

**"You're all talk." I said, crossing my swords at her neck and slicing it clean off her shoulders. **

**She exploded, turning into sand, black sand, red sand, and it flew high into the air to converge upon the ceiling. Golden eyes opened wide, bulging, staring down at us. The earth shook, and the world around us began to crumble. **

**"Run!" I exclaimed, grabbing the princess and dragging her out of the room. **

**"What's going on here!?" She gasped, her voice was, oddly familiar. "Who are you, who was that, and _what_ was that?" She asked. **

**"Save your breath and keep running!" I exclaimed. "Oh crap!" I hissed, stopping dead in my tracks, and holding a hand out to stop her as well. **

**We were at the top of a huge room which went down, down almost like a pit. Mechanisms clicked and clanked, and familiar switches were all around us, along with broken down bridges and contraptions. The only way to go was down, and that was going to take some doing. **

**The earth rumbled, and I swore loudly. "Wait here, I'll find a way to get you down." I told her, and I ran across the wall, not thinking about whether I could or couldn't do it, I just did it, using the ropes that were dangling down in order continue, jumping across a gap to get to the platform that was on the other side. I stood on the button that was there, and flooring moved out from the wall itself, allowing the princess to easily run across and get to where I am. **

**"Look, a switch." She said, notching an arrow, and shooting it at the wall button that was a ways away from us. This time the platforms shot out and allowed us to go down, but a ticking sound made it obvious we were both timed, and on the last platform, I had to do a wall run and try to reach the next button before Farah fell to her doom. **

**Because I knew who she was, I'd gotten a good look at her, and there was no mistaking it. **

**Hearts beating, we continued down, down into the depths, because that was the only direction that we could go, and we had no time to think, no time to ask questions. The walls behind us were coming down as we passed them, we were only just avoiding being taken down with them. We had to think fast, both of us, and act even faster. **

**We were almost to the ground, almost there, but we didn't get near enough to it in time. A stone from above came down upon the platform we were standing, and we had no choice but to jump, or else be crushed. **

**The floor disappeared, Farah screamed beside me as we fell, fell down into blackness, grabbing each other's hand and holding on for dear life, trying not to get separated, at the very least. But we were falling almost in slow motion, we couldn't see anything to tell us how fast we were going, but it somehow felt as though something were stopping us from falling too fast. **

**Suddenly the darkness disappeared, and in its place was an ocean. "Dive!" I told her. **

**"What?!" **

**"Like this!" I turned head down in the air and made an arrow out of my hands. Not a moment too soon Farah mimicked me, her bow forgotten for this purpose, and we hit the water like spears. **

**I used the momentum to curve at an angle, sending myself upwards and kicking towards the surface. I looked around, and saw Farah at my side, doing the same, but it was obvious in an instant that she didn't know how to swim. **

**I grabbed her around the middle and kicked and beat at the water as hard and fast as I possibly could. It was, perhaps, a miracle that we were able to reach the surface. **

**A large piece of wood had floated near us, and, looking around, I saw it had come from a wrecked ship which was burning up and crumbling into the sea. We were in the middle of a storm, and anything we could use to stay afloat, we grabbed. I pulled Farah onto the wood, and scrambled on top of it myself. **

**  
The two of us were panting hard, watching the ship burn down, the only light we had other than the occasional flashes of lightening in the distance, striking the water and visibly forking out across the sea. We pulled our legs up onto the wood, balancing as best we could, and trying our best not to get caught by those electric streaks that came after us beneath the water. **

**"I don't understand _any_ of this, what's going on!?" Farah exclaimed, "How did we get here!?" **

**"You're guess is as good as mine." I answered. "I'm starting to think this isn't even real." **

**"Not real!?" She demanded, "How can this not be real!?" **

**"Sometimes dreams can feel a lot like reality, especially the nightmares. But if this is a dream, this is no ordinary dream." I said. **

**"Are we sharing this dream then? Are you real?" Asked Farah. **

**"As real as you are, which isn't saying much." I said. The storm seemed to be calming, and we were having an easier time of keeping our balance. An island seemed to pop out of nowhere somehow, and our piece of wood suddenly scrapped onto it. We looked at each other, and scrambled onto it, running for shelter which seemed to appear in the form of a cave that had an odd, sinister illumination to it, allowing us to see in the darkness. **

**"If this is not just a dream, if you are real, then my name is Farah. I am the Princess of India, the Maharaja's daughter. Who are you?" She asked me. **

**"My name is Kaida, and I am the Empress of Time." I said without hesitation. Her eyes widened, her mouth dropped open, and she stared at me in awe. **

**"You, _you_ are, are the Empress?" She breathed, and when I nodded, she actually fell to her knees before me, "Then I know!" She cried, "I know why you are here! Even if you don't! Empress, forgive me, forgive my father, and forgive my people!" She exclaimed. **

**I stared at her, what was she _talking_ about? "Wh-what? What do you mean? Forgive you for _what_?" I asked, alarmed by this behavior. **

**"The Dagger!" She exclaimed, "The Dagger of Time, _your_ dagger, which my father swore an oath to protect, it has been stolen! Taken right out from under us. Please, please forgive us! We know who took it, but our armies are not strong enough to take it back! They will not return it!" **

**"Whoa, whoa, whoa, back up a minute. Are you saying you think the Persians stole the Dagger of Time?" I asked, and her eyes shot up to my face. **

**"You know?" **

**"I know that India and Persia are at war because India thinks Persia stole from it, but are you _sure_ about this? From what _I've_ heard, very few people even know what this treasure is suppose to be, much less that they _stole_ it from India. How do you know it was Persia?" I asked, "And please, stand up, I'm not use to this sort of treatment and you're making me uncomfortable." I told her. **

**She did so, and stared at me as though she were trying to figure me out, "We, we know that a Persian prince visited India at one time 2 years ago, and we found out that the dagger had disappeared roughly the same time that he had left. Zervan is positive that he himself saw that same prince near the castle at the time, having somehow managed to get past the guards, but he didn't think much of it because the prince was caught and thrown back out. Now we realize that he had the dagger with him, and somehow concealed it from the guards." She explained. **

**"He…_did_ visit India then…even though…" I chewed on my finger, and I could see, in my mind, a vision of the Dahaka chasing him through the city at night, him finding himself in the castle, finally able to loose the Dahaka. I saw him staring up at the balcony where he knew Farah's window was, and then getting caught by the men, the vizier watching, and smirking, something sinister flashing through his eyes. **

**I heard Farah gasp, and from the look in her eyes, she had seen that vision as well. "Is that, is that what _really_ happened?" She asked, looking horrified, "That creature…that _thing_, what _was_ it?" **

**"The Dahaka." I answered in a low voice, "The Guardian of the Timeline." I told her. **

**"So it wasn't him? It couldn't have been him! He never had time! Oh gods, but if _he_ didn't take the dagger, who _did_?!" Farah exclaimed, pacing around the cave, looking agitated, guilty, and angry. **

**"I think I can answer that question for you." I said in a dark voice. And A vision of Zervan waving a hand over the eyes of the guards, of them freezing in place, enchanted, and walking right past them. Then him, taking the dagger from its hiding place, a sinister smirk on his face. **

**"Zervan, Zervan!?" She shrieked, her fists raised in fury, "When I get my hands on him—" **

**"You'll do nothing!" I snapped, and she looked at me in surprise, "Just think about this for a minute, Farah. If you try telling your father that you had visions of the prince being chased by a guardian beast of the timeline, of _Zervan_ taking the dagger, what is he going to think? Have you ever had visions before? And what do you think Zervan will do if you accuse him of this? He's not a fool, he'll tell your father that you had too much wine or whatever the night before and that you're sun-sick or something. But at the same time he's going to know that _you_ know _exactly_ what he did, and _exactly_ what's going on. You're _not_ putting yourself in danger like that!" I told her. **

**"But what do I _do_?" She asked shifting in frustration, her hands in such tight fists she was actually drawing blood with her nails. "I can't just sit by and let Zervan get away with whatever he's planning! There has to be _something_!" **

**I began chewing on my thumb, thinking hard about this, "If Zervan's only intention were to create war between India and Persia, he would have made sure that the dagger found its way into Persia. But I doubt that's all there is to it. I think that it's just a setup. I know Zervan, not personally, but I know who he is and I know what he wants." I began pacing around the cave, agitated. **

**"What _does_ he want?" Asked Farah. **

**"What every greedy stupid son of a b(beep) wants, immortality, to become a god, to become superior to other humans, to dominate them like animals. Let me ask you something, when Zervan went to the Island of Time, do you know that he found anything there? Anything of particular interest?" I asked. **

**"I don't know. I know that Father found many treasures there…but I don't know that Zervan found anything himself." She answered. **

**I began to pace, "There was a mural telling about the Mask of the Wraith, but I wouldn't have any idea how he could have found it, nor what purpose it would serve. I'm pretty sure I took everything that might cause problems from the island…but what if there were other murals that I didn't see? I wish I knew…" I said, trying, working almost furiously to call forth a vision, but nothing came, and I let out a cry of frustration, "What the hell is the good of having visions if I can't control them!?" I demanded, throwing my hands in the air. **

**"I may be able to ask him…" Farah said, considering, and I rounded on her. **

**"Are you insane?" I demanded. **

**"Perhaps if I were to appear mildly interested…he wouldn't tell me everything, I know, but perhaps _something_, something that _you_ might be able to properly interpret." She said. **

**I sighed and ran my fingers through my hair, "If you can do it without arousing suspicion…by the way, you said your father found treasures on the island, was the Dagger among them?" I asked. **

**Farah stared at me with surprise, "No, no we were given the dagger by your followers." She answered. **

**"My _followers_?" I asked, surprised, "What, I've got followers that I don't even know about? How does _that_ work?" **

**"I'm not sure of all the details, but I think they told us that prophets predicted your return, and that we should keep the dagger safe until you arrived. You didn't know that?" She asked. **

**"No, I didn't, but then, I went from a few hundred years in the past to the present day, that's a long time to disappear from the timeline. If that makes sense." I said. **

**"Where are you now? How can I find you?" She asked. **

**"Me? _I'm_ in Persia, in Babylon no less. And _you're_ not doing anything. You let _me_ find _you_." I said, and I chewed on my thumb, considering, "I'm going to search for the dagger in Babylon, if I find it, I'll come to find you in India, and perhaps we can expose Zervan together. How, though, I'm not entirely sure. For now, just lay low and don't do anything rash. I know you can take care of yourself, and hopefully we'll be able to connect with one another again like this." I paused a moment, thinking, and then summoned the other ring out into my hand, and looked at it. **

**I wanted to make sure that it wouldn't do anything unfavorable to Farah, and I also wanted it to protect her. I considered hard on these two things, and willed them into the ring, not entirely sure this would work, but wanting to try anyway. Golden sands converged from my hands into the ring, making it hover in the air as they sank into it. "Here, take this." I said, dropping it into Farah's hand. "I have no idea if you'll wake up with it in your hand or not, but if you do, wear it. It'll protect you, at least, and be careful. It is extremely powerful, and dangerous if in the wrong hands. If you start to feel as though you're someone else, take it off, but otherwise I want you to wear it for the time being." **

**"Thank you." Farah said, and she slipped it onto her middle finger. "How do we wake up?" She asked. **

**"The normal way, I suppose. I guess we'll just have to wait and—" Something exploded deeper into the cave, and the two of us jumped to attention as a shrill scream pierced the air. **

**_"Kaida!!!"_ A voice that I _knew_ screamed. **

**"K-Kaileena!?" I called, "Kaileena what—" **

**_"Kaida! You're—It's just a—Zervan is—RUN!!!"_ She screamed. **

**I grabbed Farah, and we ran out of the cave, something dark reaching for us, trying to catch us, it nearly touched me, and then…**

XD

I awoke with a start, gasping, heart hammering in my chest, in my throat, my ears. My own sweat chilled me as the night air blew mercilessly into the room through the balcony entrance and the windows high above. The slightly translucent curtains around the bed did little to stem the brush of the air upon my bear flesh, goosebumps crawling up my skin. I stood up, slowly, arms around my chest, shuddering. Kaileena's voice was running through my head, a garbled warning I couldn't make sense of.

_"Zervan is…"_ Zervan is what? Was he already immortal, was he already a god he was just somehow able to cover it up? And what was I? I was the Empress of Time sure enough, but was I something else too? What? What was Kaileena trying to tell me?

And then, from far away, I heard Shahdee's pronouncement, "One of you must die." How, exactly, did _that_ work? Other than that dream, neither Farah nor myself had any connection…well, there _was_ the Prince. But what did Shahdee know? Or was that even Shahdee?

And who were these supposed 'followers' that I had and didn't even know about? I somehow didn't like any of this, because, aside from that, there was the question of the Dagger…and where it had come from in the first place. Because I knew that if it had been on the island, one of my inner demons would have found it and brought it to me. But since it wasn't, where was it? Who had made it? Had Kaileena crafted it and sent it away? Did she know about these 'followers'? Were they followers of _hers_? And if they were, how did they know that the 'Empress of Time' was going to come back when she was fated to die? Who were these 'prophets', and had they seen _me_ in their visions, or Kaileena?

If I had never come to this world, it _would_ have been Kaileena, but she would have died, so what would be the point of being the 'follower' of a woman whom you were never going to meet and who wouldn't have the chance to become any great icon?

And if it _was_ me, then what?

I rubbed my face with my hands, and felt a familiar cool touch upon one finger. I looked down, and I saw the ring. I remembered giving the copy to Farah, and I checked to see if I still had it. I didn't, _she_ had it, and that would be proof enough to her that what happened in our dream, _had_ happened.

A familiar arm snaked around my middle and pulled me back onto the bed so that its owner could snuggle closer to me. I grabbed the sheets that were nearly falling off _him_ and pulled them back around us, half for modesty purposes, half because I was cold. I snaked an arm around his neck and ran my fingers through his hair, and I kissed his forehead.

I remembered the prince from the Prince of Persia games, remembered his less-than-charming personality, his selfish attitude, and wondered where it had gone these past weeks. I wasn't complaining but…I don't know, perhaps it was simply the way he was around me that made it seem as though that part of him wasn't there anymore. I did see glimpses of it here and there, but it's hard to be prideful, self-assured, and a selfish git when you can't seem to act your age for very long around a woman with whom you feel comfortable enough to do and say things you never would in public. Perhaps this was the side of him that you simply never saw in the games, because he was never around a girl that could get him to argue with her as though they were both twelve again.

I also remembered the endearing way he'd been falling head over heels for Farah in Two Thrones. He'd made a complete idiot out of himself around her, one of the biggest reasons why I liked Two Thrones so much.

I gave myself a small, but painful smile. We were going to see Farah again, there was no getting around that. And I wondered…How would he react?

X3

"Farah!" He exclaimed.

Farah stared at him, and so did I, trying to keep the smirk off my face. "How do you know my name?" She asked.

"Yeah, Prince, how _do_ you know her name?" I asked, raising an eyebrow, "Because I'm pretty sure that _I_ never told you."

_Nice going, Prince._ Said the Dark Prince in his head, _Now they're **both** going to kill you._

"I ah, er, I heard of a, that there was a beautiful, princess of—NO WAIT!!!" He exclaimed, turning to me, "That's not what I meant to say! I meant—er, that is—"

_She's laughing at you, Prince. I think she's **enjoying** this._ Said the Dark Prince.

"You're laughing at me aren't you!?" He exclaimed.

"Are you going to answer the question?" I asked, grinning at him, all the while trying not to bust out laughing.

"The what?"

"How you know her name?" I pressed on, "Come on, I think we'd both like to know this."

"Uh…you know you're the only woman for me, right Kaida?" He asked, grinning nervously.

"You know if you keep stalling like this, you're going to need a doctor to come surgically remove your foot from your mouth." I informed him.

"You ARE enjoying this!!!" He exclaimed, and I then started laughing so hard I had to hold my stomach.

X3

Okay, probably not, though I'm not sure where the Dark Prince came from.

Still, I knew I was eventually going to have to face this. I had no idea what would happen when the prince saw Farah again.

And, if I was honest with myself, I really didn't _want_ to know.

XP

Prince: Okay, I would NOT be stupid enough to say THAT.

Kioko: Yeah, suuuuuuuuuure. Prince, you are male, and as a male, your foot will always get stuck in your mouth at least 20 times during your lifetime, that is if you are an extraordinarily intelligent male that knows how to work the 'shut up' radar in your brain. Just count yourself lucky that Kaida is one of the few of us who understand that it's not always your fault and finds your times of foot-in-mouth rather endearing. Because many females, I'm sad to say, tend to fly off the handle at the smallest things.

Rhea: And sometimes we do it on purpose because it's just so much _fun_ to watch you guys squirm.

Prince: Yeah, I sort of gathered that from the LAST chapter! -.-

Kaida: Get use to it, Princy, you're too hot _not_ to torture.

Prince: Gee, THANKS.

Keilic: What about me!?

Kaida: Mmmm, you're a bit of a pretty boy, but you're also an OC so I'm afraid you're not going to have that big of a part.

Keilic: But _you're_ an OC too!!!

Kaida: I'm the main character you dork.

Keilic: T.T

Kioko: Aw, poor Keilic, here have a cookie.

Keilic: Ooo! Thank you!

Kaida: Er…

Keilic: (Eats cookie and turns into a cat)

Kaida: Yeah, um, we forgot to tell you, Kioko is a witch.

Keilic: 0.0

Kioko: Well you have to admit, that _is_ pretty funny.

Kaida: Okay, it is, but why a cat?

Kioko: I like cats.

Rhea: Um, we WILL need him later on I hope you know.

Kioko: That's fine. Just tell me when and I'll change him back. But for now, he shall be cute.

Prince: GAH!!! TURN HIM BACK YOU VILE WOMAN!!!

Rhea: Hey, princy! Do the FAQ!!!

Prince: Huh wha—oh, okay!

Q: Wow, so did Farah and Kaida both have the same dream? Why?

A: I have no idea _why_, but yes, they did have the same dream.

Q: Why did Shahdee tell them one of them would have to die?!

A: Um, well, Rhea hasn't let any of _us_ know what the connection between Kaida and Farah is, so I guess we'll all just have to find out.

Q: Who are these 'followers' suppose to be and where did they come from?

Kaida: With my luck? They're a bunch of crazy cultists that saw me in the Timeline and decided to worship me because they had nothing better to do.

A: Er, yeah, what she said.

Q: What was Kaileena trying to tell Kaida about Zervan?

A: Dunno that either, wait and see.

Rhea: Well, that's all for now! I know it was a short FAQ but these end-of-chapter notes can get pretty long as it is. So, see ya! And remember to review:D Another three reviews and you get a third update today!!! (Bribe, bribe, bribe)


	8. Enter the Dark Prince

A/N: GOT ANOTHER THREE UPDATES!!! WOOT!!! You guys are great. SO HERE'S THE THIRD CHAPTER!!! ENJOY YO, BECAUSE I KNOW THIS IS THE ONE YOU'VE ALL BEEN WAITING FOR!!!

XP

"There's something…something that's been bothering me for a while now…" The prince murmured as the two of us got our clothes back on, hoping no one was going to come knocking on my door again and we would have time for him to pretend to have come in that morning to have breakfast with me, which would be there in, probably about fifteen minutes depending.

"What's that?" I asked him.

"I've…okay, Kaida, let me be honest with you." He said, sitting down on the cushions and rubbing his face with his hands, "For a while I've been…I've half been hoping that…that you might get pregnant. And I've been thinking, and thinking about it…wondering how I might be able to talk you into allowing it to be born, to, to just see. And, and if it _does_ happen to…to have your…curse, if you might be willing to try and _help_ the child conquer its demons, like you did." He said, speaking swiftly, as though hoping _that_ would make his confession bring out a less furious reaction from me.

"But even after all this time I haven't been getting pregnant, and you're wondering if I really _am_ barren." I finished, and he nodded guiltily. "No, Prince, I'm _not_ barren. I simply asked Sacrosanct that first night to make sure I didn't get pregnant, and she's been doing her job. That answer your question?" I couldn't quite keep the chilly tone of my voice down, and his shoulders sank.

"Yeah…" He murmured.

"Let me guess." I said, sitting down about a yard from him, my arms crossed over my chest, "You also thought that if I got pregnant anyway I might go ahead and marry you because the damage had been done." He was silent. But I sighed, letting my anger flow from me. How could I justify being angry with him for this? I had no idea what he was going through right now, having to deal with my constant rejection, and all the while being near me, touching me, loving me, and yet unable to complete the fairy tale, unable to complete the sappy love story this was becoming. It was myself I should be angry with, for allowing it to come this far.

How long before my resolve faded? How long before I finally accepted his offer? Before I found myself in a Persian wedding dress, drinking from a marriage cup, or exchanging rings, or exchanging blood, whatever they did here? If our days became at all monotonous, it might not be long at all.

I had to leave.

This realization hit me rather hard, and my gut felt like it had just been thrown into a meat grinder. But there was no getting around it. I _had to leave_.

"Kaida, I'm…" I turned to him, expecting an apology, but something dark seemed to pass across his eyes, and to my surprise, he grabbed me by the shoulders and forced me down on the pillows, "I'm getting _really tired_ of this _game_." He said in a soft, dark voice that I didn't quite recognize.

"You think this is a _game_?" I growled.

"What am I suppose to think!?" He demanded, glaring down at me, "I've been everything under the sun for you. I've been your friend, your brother, _and_ your lover. I've been patient, I've done all I can to cater to your little quirks and 'disabilities'. I've thought more about you and your wants and needs than I have any other person on earth, I've listened to you moan and groan about your oh-so-tragic past, and what have you done for me? Oh, right, there's the sex, no denying that was good, but how often did _that_ happen? Whenever _you_ felt like it. Well, I don't think I'm asking so much when I want you to_ marry_ me! Just look at everything I could give you! You could be _queen_ of the greatest city on earth! And you'd throw that away to some other useless woman? Excuse my ignorance in this matter, but explain again _why_ you continue to refuse when any other woman would give an arm and a leg to be my wife! And why are you looking at me like that!? You think I'm _joking_?"

"Oh no." I said with a small sneer, "I know very well you're not joking. But tell me, just how long have you been in there, exactly, and how did you gain control of the body?" I asked.

The prince's, or rather, the _dark prince's_, eyes widened, and I used his momentary surprise to throw him off of me and across the room.

"So…" He said, chuckling and smirking at me as he slowly gathered himself up, the look on his face was most definitely _not_ one that belonged to the prince, "You truly _are_ the woman the prince kept telling me about. Tell me, how did you figure it out? Or have you known from the beginning that this would happen?" He asked.

"I'll be honest with you, I was hoping it wouldn't, but _how_ it happened is what _I_ would like to know." I said, pushing my swords out from my wrists.

The dark prince looked amused at this, and it could not have been planer that he didn't believe I would do anything to him, not while he was in the prince's body, and anything I did to _him_, I would do to the prince. "Oh, I don't know." He said in a drawling voice, "Perhaps it was from hanging around _you_ too much, perhaps it was because he wore that ring of yours too long, and perhaps it was an after-effect of using the Mask of the Wraith, it could have even been the sex, couldn't it? Whatever the reason, here I am. I've been trying to convince the prince that you just need to be handled a bit more firmly, and it's been very frustrating because he insists that you'll come around eventually. I admit I lost my patience with him. He's likely not going to trust me after this, on the other hand what he doesn't remember won't hurt him." he grinned.

"Right, and _you_ don't have a problem with this? I'm not sure how I feel about this if his _dark side_ is encouraging him to marry me." I said, glaring.

"And why should _I_ have a problem with that? You are the greatest warrior woman the world has ever seen, you are strong, you are powerful, _intelligent_, and the Empress of Time no less. A queen like you is _exactly_ what this country needs." He said, taking slow, calculated steps towards me.

"If you're trying to convince me, I'm afraid to tell you you're doing a good job, only now I'm even _more_ convinced that marrying the prince would be a _bad idea_." I said, holding out a blade to stop him from getting any closer. It was touching his chest before he stopped.

The dark prince sighed and rolled his eyes to the ceiling, "And I suppose _that's_ why I'll never understand women like you. Oh, and, before I forget to mention it, if you actually _use_ that little toy on me, _I'm_ not going to be the one to feel the pain." He said, chuckling with amusement as my eyes widened, "So if it'll make you feel better, you can go right ahead. In fact, please do. It would be quite entertaining. Though it's just too bad only I will hear him scream." He said, and he took another step to me, one that, had I kept the sword where it was, it would have gone through him. But my nerve seemed to leave me, and it slipped back into my wrist.

I did have one weapon I knew I could use against him, the pink flamingo didn't do much damage, but it _did_ send enemies flying backwards. But before I could even think of summoning it, before I even had the chance, the dark prince moved the moment I pulled back my weapons. Moved so fast I knew he had slowed down time in order to do it, and the next thing I knew I was up against the wall, my wrists pinned to my sides, and his mouth had taken my own prisoner.

It wasn't the kiss itself that made me feel like vomiting, and it wasn't the prince's body either. The taste was the same, the lips were the same, it was simply the _way_ he kissed me, without any love whatsoever, only lust, and a desire to dominate, to _own_. I struggled, I struggled and fought, I bit his tongue before I realized that it wasn't the dark prince's tongue I was biting, and stopped before I drew blood. He chuckled and smiled at this, and his tongue only became more furious in its intrusion. For the first time, I felt afraid, not of being killed, no, of being raped.

I couldn't _hurt_ him! And he was stronger, much stronger than he should have been. Anything I did to him, it wouldn't hurt him, wouldn't drive him back. All the pain would transfer over to the prince, and I couldn't do anything about it. Even if I _did_ decide to risk hurting the prince, it wouldn't do anything to the _dark_ prince. I could try to push him back, but he was too strong, I could try crying for help, but I couldn't let anyone else get involved in this. How would it look to the public if the prince was caught taking advantage of the very woman he claimed saved him? And it would be even _worse_ if it was discovered the prince was suffering from a severe split-personality issue.

I was helpless, completely helpless. I couldn't _do_ anything but hope and pray that the prince would gain control before his dark side could do anything, but I doubted very much that that would happen.

When he finally pulled away, he looked down at me with a look of amusement and lust, licking his lips obscenely, I realized that he knew _exactly_ how little control of the situation I had, and how little I could do, or rather, he knew that I could do _nothing_. I glared at him, gritting my teeth, but this only seemed to amuse him even more, and he bent down to my neck.

He licked a spot there, sucked on it, and then bit down hard enough that he drew blood, which he sucked on with apparent relish. I bit back the grunt of pain at this, refusing to let it show, refusing to give him the satisfaction. But I felt sick, and wondered if vomiting all over him would be enough to turn him off, or at the very least disgust him. What happened to the less obviously _dark_ Dark Prince that I'd had a morbid sort of fascination with in the game? The one who didn't even seem to like women all that much and view them as pointless distractions? What happened to _him_? I would have rather he view me with distain than this!

The dark prince finished with the bite mark, and licked my ear, his hands working themselves so that his fingers were laced through mine. "I don't think there's any real need for this anymore, do you?" He asked, and before I could figure out what he was talking about, I realized too late that he'd taken the ring from my finger between his own, and was slipping it off of me.

I felt that burning in my chest once again, felt it course throughout my body just as the dark prince's lips returned to mine. But it didn't stop with just my body, it passed _from me_ and _to him_. The daggertail from my right arm was copied over to his left, the golden markings burned upon his body, and the shoulder horns that he had sprouted. His eyes turned gold like mine, and his markings burned with that same glowing light. The only difference between _this_ dark prince and the one that I knew, was that his hair, while still smoke, did not fly up on his head, but instead stayed down to create a gently floating halo around his neck.

He'd tossed the ring across the room, and the next thing I knew, we were on the bed again, and he was smirking down at me, not even bothering to hide his intentions.

I struggled, of course I struggled. I was stronger in this form, but the problem was, so was _he_, and he was stronger than _me_. **_"Much better."_** He said, grinning down at me. His voice wasn't the same as it had been from the game, it was the dark prince's voice, but given the same echoing, eerie quality that mine did, that Sacrosanct's did. **_"You're only acceptably pretty in that other form, you know, but like this, you are truly beautiful."_**

**_"To a b(beep) like you maybe."_** I snarled.

**_"Now, now, none of that."_** He said, bending down and capturing my lips in his own once again.

There was only one thing more I could do to escape this mess, and I realized that letting himself become a sand creature like me had to have been the stupidest thing he could have done.

The moment he released my lips in order to move down and work to remove my clothes, I turned my head and said, **_"Look girls, it's the Dark Prince!"_**

_"AIIIIIIII!!!"_ Aggle squealed.

**_"What tha—"_** He looked up just in time to watch Aggle coming straight for him, tackling him right off me and onto the floor on the other side of the bed.

_"I've been wanting to see you for so long omigosh let's make babies!!!"_ She exclaimed, her arms wrapped so tightly around him it looked like she was trying to become an extra limb.

_"Oh no you don't! He's **mine**!!!"_ Exclaimed Gorra, slithering over swiftly and grabbing the Dark Prince's arm and trying to wrench him away from Aggle.

**_"What the hell!?"_** The Dark Prince exclaimed.

**_"F(beep)ing b(beep), you deserve this."_** I said, slipping out of the bed on the other side just as Kukarkin grabbed the Dark Prince's other arm.

**"Sorry Gorra, but he's coming with _me_."** She purred. **"Aren't you Prince?"**

_"MINE, MINE, MINE, MINE, MINE, MINE, MINE, MINE, MINE!!!"_ Aggle chanted in a high-pitched voice, still refusing to let go of the prince.

_"No f(Beep)ing way, Kukarkin! You already have the Dahaka, **I** get the Dark Prince!"_ Gorra exclaimed.

**"I can have two men!"** Kukarkin exclaimed,

_"NO YOU CAN'T!!!"_ Gorra shrieked.

_"Pardon me, girls, but I'm afraid the Dark Prince is **mine**."_ Monigan said silkily wrapping her arms around the prince's body, and plucking Aggle off him, causing her to start crying and throw a tantrum.

_"Oh yeah!? Says who!?"_ Gorra demanded angrily. Clawing at the Dark Prince, who was attempting to wrench himself away from all of them, but he didn't have much leeway to use the daggertail, and without any other weapon he was stuck with strength alone, something that wouldn't help him against Monigan.

**_"You b(beep)!!! Call of your demons!!!"_** The Dark Prince shrieked at me as I finally found the ring and retrieved it.

"And just _why_ should I do that?" I asked in a bored voice after slipping the ring back on my finger. "After all, _you_ tried to do the same thing to _me_ that _they_ want to do to _you_. Doesn't feel so good when you're on the receiving end, does it?"

_"I WANNA HAVE HIS BABIES!!! ME ME ME!!!"_ Aggle screamed, leaping up to latch on to the Dark Prince, who Monigan actually picked up and held in the air by his waist to get him away from the other three. This, however, gave him the use of his arms, as well as his daggertail, which he whipped around and hit Monigan across the side of her face.

Monigan swore and dropped him, black blood spurting from her head, and the Dark Prince rounded, coming after me and looking ready to kill.

He skidded to a halt, however, and a look of fear crossed his face as Kagero appeared, winding himself around me, and leering at him. **"Oh my dear, what a mess. Shall I clean it up for you?"** He asked silkily.

_"No! Bad Kagero!!! He's mine! MINE, MINE, MINE, MINE, MINE, MINE!!!"_ Aggle exclaimed, throwing herself back around the prince and practically screaming.

"No! Just hold him still." I told Kagero, who converged upon the prince and did, indeed hold him where he was so that the girls were able to catch hold of him as well.

I looked wildly around the room, if I didn't do something soon, _someone_ was going to come in, and they would see all of this.

My eyes found a bucket of water, and I sprinted over to it, grabbed it, and came back to use it upon the prince.

His eyes widened when he realized I knew his weakness, and let out one last cry of fury, but Kagero had him bound too tightly for him to do anything, and the next moment, he fell limp. No longer a sand creature, no longer the Dark Prince, and no longer conscious.

"You can let him go now." I said, and Kagero released him, but Aggle didn't, she looked mutinous, "I said, LET HIM GO!" I roared, and she had no choice but to obey. I fell to my knees and pressed my ear to his chest, praying, hoping…there was a heartbeat. I sighed with relief, and gathered his unconscious form into my arms. There were now markings upon his left arm, not as detailed or as numerous as mine, but they were there.

_"Godd(beep)it!"_ Monigan shrieked, _"What did you have to do **that** for!?"_ I glared at her, but she glared right back at me, furious, along with Gorra, Kukarkin, and Aggle.

"Make you a deal, you shut the f(beep) up now, and I'll be sure you get another chance the next time the Dark Prince takes control." I told her. "All of you."

This proposal seemed to go over fairly well, they seemed appeased somewhat, and didn't fight that much when I sent them all to the Manor.

My strength left me almost completely. Not only could I hardly hold onto the prince, but all the pretense, the mask of anger and resistance that I had worn in front of the Dark Prince…it all faded, to be replaced with a girl, broken, frightened, and sobbing. I had almost been raped, and for once in my life I had been completely helpless against another human being, rather than one of my inner demons. And, well, none of _them_ had ever abused me _sexually_. On top of that, it had been a long time since I felt helpless period, my mind unable to find ways and means of escape. Only now did I remember Kaileena's teleportation ability, and that I had that myself. Why hadn't I used it? _Why_ hadn't I remembered something like that? I needn't have resorted to my inner demons…

But at least I had gotten revenge upon the Dark Prince, at least I had shown him that I was _not_ someone he could take advantage of easily. He would know better next time, know better than to even _try_.

So why didn't I feel better about it?

The Dark Prince…was not one of my inner demons. But having him there, having him advance on me, aiming to take his own pleasure at my expense…it reminded me too much of my childhood, far too much. The only difference was that he only wanted sex, thank _god_. So why, why had I been so afraid of him then? There was nothing that he could do to me which I hadn't already gone through, only ten times as worse. Sure I didn't particularly like the thought of being freak'n _raped_…

It was the fear, the memories of what use to happen when I was helpless, when I couldn't do anything. It was simply the idea that had frightened me, having to go through that sort of thing over again, when I had thought those days were over.

Because I knew first hand that there were much worse things one could experience than sexual abuse.

XP

Dark Prince(DP for short): _YES_!!! I'm _finally_ in the story!!! You are a b(beep) for keeping me out this long, you know that?

Rhea: Well EXCUSE ME for deciding that the STORY ITSELF takes priority over your need for the spotlight!!!

DP: I'm going to have a bigger part though, right?

Rhea: Eventually, _maybe_, if you're good.

Kaida: Um, he tried to FREAK'N RAPE ME!!! I say we kill him now and be done with it.

DP: (snickers) You know, you're not fooling anyone. You were _enjoying_ it and you know it.

Kaida:…okay maybe a little…BUT THAT'S IT!!!

Prince!.! YOU WHERE!?

DP: HA!!! I keep telling you! I'm a _much_ more popular character than you are! Which is why your reviewer DarkxPrince is _right_ and I _am_ too awesome to have such a small part!

Rhea: The entire chapter was dedicated to you! Isn't that enough!?!?

DP: Uh, _NO_! And you want to know why? (Pulls back curtain on window to reveal a crowd of crazed fan girls)

Fan girls: AIIIIIII!!! WE LOVE YOU DARK PRINCE!!!

DP: _That's_ why!

Kaida: You _do_ realize that Monigan, Aggle, Kukarkin, and Gorra were in that group as well, don't you?

DP: Yes, thank you, I was trying to ignore that fact. The POINT IS that I am _much_ too cool to be given such a small part! The polls _prove_ it! There are more fanfics dedicated to me than you can count, and you're only going to loose your readers by giving me a crappy part!

Rhea: Alright, FINE!!! You can do the next FAQ, but I've got a dinner date and I need to get going, so you'll have to wait for the next chapter.

DP: WHAT!?

Rhea: Until next time! I love you all!!! R&R!!!


	9. Power and Lust

A/N: I'm blue dabadi dabadai daba_di_ dabadai dabadi dabadaiiiiiii…

XP

"Kaida…what…what _happened_?" The prince asked, dazed and confused. It had taken a while for him to wake up, I'd brought him over to the table with the cushions and laid him down with his head on my lap. When Kuzkin, the same servant who'd brought me my wine that first day, came in with the breakfast, and he didn't ask any questions. I gave him a week smile and thanked him. He bowed again, and then, for the first time, looked me in the eye and touched his fingers to his lips, which I understood to mean that if word leaked out about the prince being in my room like this, they wouldn't be hearing it from _him_.

I hadn't touched my food yet, and it had gotten cold.

The prince's hand came up and he touched my cheek, "You've been crying…" It wasn't a question.

I held his hand in my own and closed my eyes, pressing it to the side of my face, drinking in his scent, "How long," I murmured, "Have you been hearing that voice?"

The prince paled and he sat up, looking at me, his eyes wide with horror, "What…" He murmured, "What, did, he, do?" He asked slowly. "What did you do!?" He roared to his own head.

"It's not what he _did_, it's what he _tried_ to do." I said, wondering what the Dark Prince was saying to him. His eyes glazed over, and I could tell he was listening, and his rage was building.

"Oh? And what did you do to _make_ her send them after you?" He hissed to himself. "What did he do?" He asked me after a moment. "What did he _try_ to do?"

"I'll give you three guesses, but you're only going to need one." I said dryly, "I'm not sure how much of a compliment it is when your _dark side_ tries to rape me."

The prince paled, "He—Kaida, Kaida I'm—"

"Don't you dare say you're sorry, Prince, because _you're_ not the one who should be apologizing, and I don't _want_ an apology from you." I said, my voice firm, yet gentle so that he would know I wasn't angry with him. "Just make sure he knows that if he tries something like that again he won't be so lucky next time."

The prince paused a moment, and then his face became ugly and furious, "He says he'd like to _apologize_ for his behavior." He snarled.

"Tell him that he can take his apology and stick it up his (beep)." I said, and a grim smirk crossed his face.

"Noted." He told me. But then his expression became sour again.

"What did he say?" I asked.

"I'm not repeating it." He answered.

"So can you give me an estimate of how long you've been hearing his voice?" I asked.

The prince frowned, "I think I first realized it was actually a voice when we were on that ship and we'd been separated. Or at least, that's when I first realized I could interact with it. I thought I was going crazy, so I didn't want to say anything. I tried to just ignore it, but it kept getting stronger…do you think…do you think he could be _my_ Inner Demon?" he asked.

"If he is, he's more like a cross between the typical non-entity inner demon, and one of mine. Because mine never had the ability to possess me like that, and yours doesn't have its own body like mine. No, this is a case of your darkness separating and obtaining its own individual consciousness. I'm not sure _how_ it happened, and I'm not sure how he was able to take control of your body, but it did, and he did, and now we're stuck with him." I said.

"What do I do then? How can I get rid of him? Or at the very least make sure he can't take control of me again." He asked.

"Ah, my expertise in the matter is rather lacking. I constructed a huge house in my mind to keep all my inner demons out of my conscious thought, but I don't know whether that can work for you. Just make sure you take everything he says with a grain of salt, and if you feel him trying to take over, I suggest fighting it by forcing yourself to being overly aware of your body. Also…if you find yourself somehow becoming a sand monster, you'll be able to change back with water." I said.

"A, a _what_?" he asked. I took a deep breath, and explained what happened as well as I could. "Oh…" He murmured, "I see…It was water that changed me back to me, wasn't it?"

"Yes, so at least I have that weapon. I'll just have to make sure I keep some with me in the Manor at all times." I said. "Huh…" I said, an idea occurring.

"What is it?" He asked.

"Nothing, I was just wondering what would happen if I turned him into one of my Inner Demons like the Dahaka, always assuming I _could_…"

X3

"Welp, this is your new home, Princy! Enjoy it!" I said, tossing the Dark Prince into the Manor, and shutting the door behind him.

"What the hell!? Let me out of here!!!" He yelled, pounding on the door. "I'll get you for this! Let me out!!!"

_"Well would you lookie here."_ Said a familiar voice, and he spun around, coming face-to-face with none other than Monigan. But not just her, Kukarkin, Gorra, Aggle, and a large number of other female inner demons as well.

_"AIIIIIIII!!! OH DARK PRINCE!!! YOU CAME FOR ME I KNEW YOU WOULD!!!"_ Aggle squealed, immediately latching on to him.

_"We like Dark Priiiiiince."_ The Sisters chimed in unison, surrounding him on all sides.

With a cry of pure terror, the Dark Prince ran for it, with a large number of demonic fan girls tailing him. Finally he thought he lost him, only to have Kukarkin appear and tackle him to the ground. **"Caughtcha!"** She declared happily.

Suddenly the world lost all color, and there was the Dahaka, a murderous glint in his eye. **"Oh, uh, hi honey!"** Kukarkin said sweetly, hopping off the Dark Prince and trying to look innocent.

**"Namow _ym_ s'taht."** He growled, grabbing the Dark Prince by the neck.

"I want my mommy!" the prince sobbed.

X3

The prince was in tears, not just from this little imaginative story, but also at the indignation that his darker half was voicing in his head, as he told me through gasps and bouts of laughter.

"Alright, what's going on in here!?" Keilic demanded, practically slamming the door open.

"It's not what you think!" I exclaimed, holding my hands up defensively, "I know this _looks_ like we're just sitting around and I'm telling another funny story, but we're actually having _sex_!" I said.

I though the prince was going to die laughing. He certainly fell back against the pillows and rolled onto his side, and after Keilic got over the shock of me telling such a bold, shameless joke, he, too, began laughing, though not nearly as hard as the prince was.

XD

Four days had passed since the incident with the Dark Prince, and in that time I had, so far, been able to avoid the King. A good thing because I did _not_ want him asking me why I wouldn't marry his son. Still, somehow it leaked out that the two of us were lovers, or rather, that we were _going_ to be lovers, we just didn't realize it yet, and it was the sole duty of every meddling member of the palace to see to it that we _did_.

It was difficult to get around the subtle hints about how it would be nice to have such a strong woman taking up a permanent residence in the palace, as Orzan was becoming a nuisance in doing, in order to look for the Dagger, or to find out anything about it without letting anyone know that _I_ even knew what the stolen Indian treasure _was_. Check that, it was nearly _impossible_.

I was visiting the training grounds regularly, with or without the Prince, and my frequent strolls had given me a good idea of the castle's layout so that I didn't need a guide wherever I went. Since earning myself a place there, most men were more than happy to help me out with my limited acrobatic skills. The problem was that the prince seemed to be the best of the best, and what I considered to be limited compared to his, was not the case compared to _theirs_. Still, the terrain I needed was there for me to practice, and while I did have difficulties, my ability to balance quite nimbly on my hands as well as my feet came in very handy, no pun intended.

More to make myself useful than anything else, I agreed to help train the rookies, though I had no idea how in the world I was suppose to teach what I'd learned through experience and by watching the prince, so Orzan and I worked out a system. I would spend an hour or two in the ring, while attempting to go easy on the rookies that came in to try and knock me out so that they could get _something_ out of the fight other than a hard kick in the butt, and then Orzan would tell them everything they did wrong and what they needed to do to improve. It wasn't much good for a workout, I could go on for hours with opponents _this_ pathetic, even if they tried to gang up on me three at a time.

Still, even with all of that going on, I _was_ looking, and I had even woken up a demon named Kohlt to do a bit of spying for me. He was little else than a single eye with bat-like wings which could transform into any type of black bird and record what he sees and hears like a camera, to play back for me in my mind when I called to him. He use to be the one that kept watch on me, and which the other demons used to find out where I was.

Though he could even become invisible, he had yet to find or hear anything at all, he hadn't even found the dagger, though I had him look for that as well.

As my only education in this matter was through books, I didn't trust my information gathering skills enough to do very much. I _did_ get Orzan talking about the war, but when I asked not even _he_ knew what the treasure was suppose to be.

I wasn't hanging around the prince nearly so much as I though I might have to. He _did_ have some princely duties to attend to, though what they were _I_ had no clue, not because they were a bit secret, but more for lack of interest. Well, half lack of interest, half out of the desire to keep our worlds separated.

As much as I hate to admit it, what the Dark Prince had said when pretending to be his better half was beginning to hover more and more often in the back of my mind, and I began to wonder if his words were true, and if that was how the prince really felt.

The thing was, there wasn't much more of me that I could offer the Prince which I hadn't already given him. Yes, I could give him my hand in marriage, but then what? After that…what else was there?

Pain. That's what I could give him, pain. And I feel he'd already suffered enough at my hands. He had done so much for me already, the Dark Prince was right about that, at least. The prince had given me everything he could, and then some. I'd just been too self-absorbed to realize this. How many times had he listened to me talk to him about my childhood when what he really wanted to do was shut me up and simply stay _ignorant_? How many times had he told me embarrassing stories of himself, just to make me feel better? Just to see me smile?

And what was I giving him? Sex, and that was about it. I couldn't even give him my love, because I didn't even know if it was there. All I could do was pretend, and that wasn't enough.

XD

I sighed, the hot bath that had been drawn for me by Kuzkin was heavenly. I'd gotten use to going for a while without baths, but nowadays they were frequent and it was _so nice_. I had cleaned myself off more thoroughly than simple soap would have done, and now I was just enjoying the water itself.

**_"You know, I take it back. You're more than only 'acceptably' pretty, much more."_** Said a voice I had _no trouble_ in recognizing.

I looked over, and there was the Dark Prince, leaning against the wall next to the balcony entrance and grinning, in full view of at least the top half of my body. I stared at him, felt color rise to my cheeks, and immediately curled up in order to cover myself, "GRAAAAA!!!" I roared, "What the _hell_ are you doing out!?!?" I demanded angrily.

**_"Believe it or not I was coming to apologize, but I think I've gotten side-tracked. What were we talking about again?"_** He asked innocently, and the next minute he was standing right next to the tub and grinning down at my attempt to cover myself, **_"What, you're shy? It isn't as though I haven't seen it all before, just not in person. Hey now,"_** He said, somehow able to dodge the water that I splashed towards him.

"Alright, buddy, you have ten seconds to either, one, get out, or two, explain what you're doing here, before I let Monigan have at you. Ten," I began.

**_"Okay, okay, fine. I'm sorry I tried to rape you, I promise I'll stick to seducing you and I won't force you into anything…no matter how much I want to."_** He said in a board, drawling voice, as though resigning himself and wanting to get his apology over with as fast as he could.

"You call that an apology?" I demanded incredulously, summoning my robe over to me and covering myself with it as I got out of the water, "That was _pathetic_." I told him.

**_"Well excuse me but I've never had to apologize for anything before."_** He grumbled, looking more than a little put out that I'd managed to get the robe on, _and_ was standing on the other side of a tub of _water_.

"Well if that's the case then you've also never had sex before, making you a virgin." I said in a falsely sweet voice.

His eyes widened and he slapped a hand to his chest, **_"Ouch!"_** He said, pretending to have been wounded physically. But then he grinned, **_"I don't guess you'd do me a favor and fix that for me, would you?"_** He asked seductively.

I gave him the finger, "Go find yourself a prostitute." I snarled.

**_"Oh, ouch! Another blow!"_** He said, giving a false wince, **_"Oh come on, Kaida, it doesn't have to be like that. Alright, perhaps I was a little too, ah, firm with you before."_**

"Yeah, one would think Monigan, Aggle, Kukarkin, and Gorra might turn you off!" I exclaimed.

**_"On the contrary, I just want you more."_** He said, wagging his finger annoyingly at me, **_"Such powerful creatures at your beck and call, all of them under your complete control. How many of them are there? I'll bet you have enough to topple an army."_**

"Monigan could topple an army by herself, if you have to know. Are you finished yet? Because I _do_ have your weakness at my disposal and you may be able to dodge just _me_, but you _won't_ be able to dodge if I decide to call Kagero." I told him.

The Dark Prince was beginning to loose some of his humor, and there was frustration and anger in his eyes now, **_"You've slept with him often enough, what would be the difference if you slept with me!?"_** He demanded, it was almost like he were a child demanding why his brother could do something that he couldn't.

"Because you're _not_ him!" I exclaimed.

**_"Yes I am! Haven't you been listening!?"_** He demanded, grabbing at his hair and actually pulling on the smoky locks. **_"I am just as much a part of the prince as the half that you know! Allowing me to touch you is no different from allowing him to touch you!!!"_**

"Oh yeah? Then how come you can't be content with having _him_ touch me?" I asked him hotly.

**_"Because I am a shadow, and as such, I only get a shadow of what he does! When he touches you I don't feel your skin, I feel him feeling your skin!"_** He exclaimed.

"You see!? _That's_ the difference! Because I wouldn't be having sex with _him_ I'd be having sex with _you_!"

**_"WE'RE THE SAME PERSON!!!"_** He roared.

"NO YOU'RE NOT!!!" I roared right back at him, my fists in the air, "I can _tell_ I can _feel_ the difference between you!!! When_ he_ kisses me he kisses me out of _love_, but _you_ kiss me out of _lust_! When we make love there's _meaning_ to it, there's _emotion_, there's a fire, a spark there that makes it more intimate than just sex. All you want is the sex itself and nothing more!" I exclaimed.

**_"And what if you're wrong? Hm? What if what I really want is what he has!? What if that's exactly what I want!? What if it's that little something extra, that indescribable…something that makes it more than just sex!? If it were just about the sex I could care less, believe it or not! But it isn't! He and I are different parts of the same being, we are one! Is it so wrong that I want an equal share of what he has!?"_** He demanded angrily.

"What, so you think you have the right to just _take_ it!?" I asked.

**_"How the hell else am I going to get it!?"_**

"Not by freak'n _raping_ me!" I answered.

**_"Then HOW!?"_** He roared, and he actually grabbed the tub and pushed it hard so that it skidded far out of our way, its low water level sloshed but other than that didn't spill. **_"How!? Or do you even have an answer!? You are afraid, aren't you!? You're afraid that by letting me in you'll be even more entwined with the prince than you already are! You're afraid to allow your affection to spread to me because I am his darkness, and loving his darkness and his light is just too much for you! You cowardly b(beep)!!!"_**

My blood was boiling now, I could hardly think straight anymore, I was so angry, angry not just at him, but at myself, because I knew he was right. What had happened to that bit of fan-girl attraction I use to have for the Dark Prince in my video games? Well, I could always make the excuse that he killed it by trying to force himself on me but…in a way…I could almost understand why he felt he had to do it that way in order to get what he wanted, and I also hated myself for that as well. I wanted to keep hating him because I didn't want to love the prince _this much_. I didn't want to admit that my affection could be love, because it just might, and that was the danger of it. I was afraid, yes, I was, but _no one calls **me** a coward_.

It was that, more than anything, that made me reckless enough to do what I did next.

I raised my hand, and he obviously thought I was about to slap him, though he wasn't backing down from it at all. But what I _really_ did shocked him so much that, for a few moments, he forgot how to breathe. I grabbed him by the light wisps of smoky hair, discovering that they _did_, in fact, have substance, and I pulled him down the few inches of height difference between us and kissed him full on the lips.

I was _not_ a coward. But what the _hell_ had I just gotten myself into?

It was different though, it was different from the last time, and though it was still different from when the prince and I kissed, it wasn't…_bad_. The taste of him was the same, but there was something _else_ in the mix there. Like something had been taken away and a subtly different herb had been added. A darker, deeper taste, odd, and yet…it seemed kind of like an acquired taste, the more I had of it, the less I found I disliked it, and the more I wanted.

The dark prince soon kissed me back, hungrily, passionately, and, yes, _lustfully_. But this time I let him, and this time I felt a dark, sinful sort of pleasure at the way he was running his hands up and down my body, pulling my sash away so that they could slip inside the robe and caress bear skin with bear skin. A small part of me, the part of me that was far more SENSIBLE was beginning to panic and yell at me to get out _now_. But I had gotten myself in too far. I dug the hole already, I might as well burry myself in it and be done with it. I brought my arms around his neck and slipped the ring off my finger, banishing it to the Manor and experiencing the transformation back into my own sand form.

Somehow sensing what I'd done, the Dark Prince pulled back so he could look at me, and he smirked lustfully at my black body, practically ripping the robe all the way off so he could have a better view. **_"Magnificent,"_** He purred, **_"I'm glad to see that you—"_**

**_"Dark Prince?"_** I said sweetly, grabbing him by the back of the neck, **_"Let me make a suggestion, shut up before I change my mind and decide to feed you to the harpies."_** I snarled at him.

**_"Yes ma'am."_** He cooed, but though I'd stopped his verbal gloat, there was no getting around the satisfied look on his face, even as I used his hair like a leash and drug him over to the bed.

I pushed him down onto the bed so I could be on top, and once more our lips met, our tongues entwined, and as the dance began I felt my anger fade, and I could feel his own arrogant satisfaction and victorious airs leave as well. It was strange, and I somehow felt as though the Dark Prince from the game, the one that I thought I knew from the other day, and _this_ one were all different somehow. The same, yet not the same at once. He did not adore me like the prince did, his kisses and nibbles weren't loving like his, but they _were_ full of that same fire. His adoration came in the form of lust and a desire to take, to _own_. But this time, this time I let him. And when I did, I realized that the one with the _true_ power, the one who held the keys in their hand, the one who was really in control of all this…was me. And rather than being slightly appalled by this power, as I would have with the prince, I embraced it, I enjoyed it and _used_ it. I used it so that he knew, so that he could see without a doubt that he had just given me a dark, macabre power over him, but one that I wasn't going to hold on to if he found he didn't like it, if he realized this wasn't what he wanted and decided to make it stop.

But he didn't want it to stop, he didn't want me to relinquish that power.

And so I didn't.

XP

DP: _YEAH_!!! Finally some _action_!!!

Prince: (In shock) O0O…

DP: Heheheheh. So, how about you ditch the prince and stick with _me_?

Kaida: Tempting, but no, not happening.

DP: Oh come on, you know I'm _much_ more awesome than _he_ is.

Kaida: (twitch, twitch)

Kioko: Heheheheh, (Evil smile) (Whispers something to Kaida)

Kaida: (Similarly evil smile) Dark Prince?

DP: Yeeeeeeeeees?

Kaida: Heel.

DP: (Zipps over to Kaida, a large grin on his face)

Kaida: Wow, you were right! Good boy.

DP: Hey wait a moment…

Kioko: (Laughing her head off) Oh _gods_ that was priceless!!!

DP: What the—I'm not your dog!

Kaida: No, but you're acting like it. (Smirks evilly and begins whispering huskily in his ear)

DP: (Grinning with sinister satisfaction, but then frowns slightly) Why should I—(Kaida kisses him) Yes _ma'am_! (Runs off)

Rhea: Hey! What did you tell him!? I told him he could do the FAQ today!!!

Kaida: Oh, he'll be back in a minute. (Laughing) I am simply exercising the power I have over him! It feels _good_.

Kioko: Doesn't it though?

Rhea: Just don't humiliate him or anything like that, he's too awesome for that!

Prince: (Snapping back to reality) NOT YOU TOO!!!

DP: (Coming back with a box in his hand) HAHA! I _told_ you!

Rhea: Er…he reminds me of my brother?

DP: O.o Say _what_!?

Rhea: Anyway, do the FAQ!

DP: ALRIGHT!!!

Q: So is the Dark Prince a bit more tightly tied to the prince than he was in the game now?

A: Yes. We have a sort of yami/hikari thing going here. We _are_ two parts of the same person, and as such I'm not going _anywhere_. They're both _stuck_ with me!

Q: So is the dagger actually _in_ Persia? And if it is, where is it?

A: Not telling, heheheheh.

Q: How come Kaida gave in to the Dark Prince like that?

A: If you honestly have to ask that question then you really don't deserve an answer.

Q: You know the Prince isn't going to be too happy when he finds out.

A: Psh, we're the same person, he'll get over it. It's not like she technically cheated on him or anything. Once he learns I'm the better man things will go a lot more smoothly from here on out.

Q: So does Kaida really have that much power over you now?

A: What? A _woman_, having power over _me_? You're out of your mind.

Kioko: Oh yeah? What's in the box Dark Princy?

A: …SHUT UP!!! (Gives it over to Kaida, who's laughing)

Rhea: Well, that's all for now! Until next time!!!

DP: I want in the Drabbles now!

Rhea: Oh for the love of—FINE!!! YOU GREEDY SOB!!!

Kioko: Read and review and all that fun stuff.


	10. Fading Anxiety

A/N: (Head banging to Straight Out of Line by Godsmack)

XP

I felt…guilty, yes, I felt guilty…I felt guilty, because I _wasn't_ guilty, because I _didn't_ regret it. I didn't regret sleeping with the Dark Prince, and it was that lack of guilt that put the sick knot into my stomach.

And, naturally, he was angry, and more than a little hurt.

"Why, Kaida, why?!" He cried, grabbing his hair and pulling on it. "You could have just said no! Why didn't you!? I don't understand! I feel like you just slept with another man!"

"The problem is that I _didn't_." I said, rubbing my temples and feeling a headache coming on, "I almost wish I _did_, that would make this a _lot_ simpler, and easier to _deal with_!"

"How do you think I'm _feeling_ right now!?" He demanded, rounding on me, his eyes ablaze with anger, "It doesn't _help_ that I have to listen to him _gloat_ about it, like he managed to steal you from me completely! And I almost feel like he did! In one night he managed to take the _world_ from me! I let him have control to _apologize_ to you, and _this_ is what happens!"

"How do _I_ think you're feeling? I think you're feeling the green eyed monster of jealousy burning in your stomach, but that it's being twisted up because your jealousy is directed at a part of your own _spirit_. You're jealous of _yourself_, and it would be so much easier if it were another man because at least _then_ you could rip the bones right out of their bodies. But you can't do that to _him_ because you are the _same person_. And me? I'm feeling _extremely_ confused right now about what the _hell_ I just got myself into, _why_ I did it, and _why_ in the _world_ don't I feel more guilty about doing it. It's because it was _you_ the whole time, but _you_ were a different person. The problem is that, technically, I wasn't unfaithful at all in sleeping with him, but because it was _him_ you and not _you_ you, it sort of _feels_ like it. Do you have a headache yet? Because I do."

I groaned almost miserably and laid back on the bed, sighing and wishing this day could end already, even though it was still morning. Or that we could skip this part of the day altogether. I was getting so tired of making mistakes like this, it was ridiculous! Why hadn't I said no!? I should have _known_ this was going to come right afterwards, what the f(beep) was the good of being the Empress of Time if I couldn't foresee the consequences of my own f(beep)ing actions!? We could have at _least_ asked the prince's permission first, that would have given me a very good excuse to say no because I suspected that the only way he would agree to it would be over his dead and mangled body.

"Prince, do you really think of me as being a slut? Do you really believe that I would have even _considered_ doing something like this had it been _anyone else_?" I asked him. It was suppose to be a rhetorical question, but I almost dreaded the answer, afraid that his anger might get the better of his mouth, and knowing that the result would hurt…a lot.

"No…" He murmured, sitting down on the other side of the bed with his back to me, "And, you're right, that's the problem. I know very well that, had it been any other man, you would have likely ruined any and all chances of him ever having children. I never really felt I had anything to worry about if it came to loosing you to another man, and I know, or rather, I am _trying_ to understand the fact that it's _not_ another man, but it's _hard_. It's just so _hard_." He sighed, laying back on the bed so that our heads were next to each other, though our bodies were facing opposite directions.

"Is he still gloating?" I asked.

"_Yes_." He hissed, grinding his teeth in anger.

"Well, I think I know what'll shut him up." I said, "Hey Dark Prince? Yeah, I know you can hear me in there. I wouldn't keep that up if I were you, because unless your better half says it's okay, that will _never_ happen again."

An almost reluctant smile crossed the prince's face, and he even started laughing, "_That_ shut him up." He said, sounding pleased. But then that pleasure faded with another sigh, and we were back to square 1.

I sighed too, and I turned over so that I could look down at him from above, leaning on one arm while using the other's hand to brush his hair out of his face, "You want to know why I did it Prince? Well, I'm not entirely sure myself, but I think part of the reason was that I felt sorry for him." I said, allowing my hand to rest on his cheek.

"You felt _sorry_? For _him_?" he asked, almost incredulously.

"I'm not entirely sure how to explain it but…from what he told me, he does experience what you do, but it's to such a small degree that all he gets is a shadow of what happens. He told me that the reason he wanted _me_ so much was because of what you and I shared, he wanted to experience that for himself. And in a way, he sort of did, but to have what _you_ and I have, he'd have to be _you_ you, rather than _him_ you, and that's not entirely possible. He's like the third party, he's a part of this, but he's being forced to watch on the other side of the glass wall rather than being allowed to participate. And that's what drove him to trying to rape me, because he really didn't know of any other way he could get past that wall. He just wants to join us, but he can't really do that very easily because the two of you can't be in control of one body at the same time. _One_ of you has to be behind that glass, and he's just tired of it always being him."

"And he thinks he has the right to push _me_ behind that glass? I was here first, I get priority!" The prince growled.

I kissed him for a moment, spiderman-style, but then pulled back and said, "You will _always_ have priority, because you _were_ here first. _He_ doesn't understand me the way you do, he doesn't _love_ me the way you do, he is you, but he's not as important to me as you are. If there was a choice between the two of you, it would always be you. What I'm saying is that I can understand how he feels somehow cheated, that he's being forced back when he feels he deserves to have _some_ part of your life. Because now, he _is_ a part of your life, you and he are one and the same, and he's not going to just disappear because we want him to." I told him.

He sighed, "I suppose…it's not, so bad…" He murmured.

"Just so long as he lets _you_ decide when and how often, right?" I said, grinning.

"_Exactly_." He answered, bringing his hand up so that he could pull me down into another kiss, this one open-mouthed with a good deal of tongue action. But then he broke off. "_No_ not _now_, d(beep)it! You had her all last night you b(beep), she's _mine_ now!" He snapped.

I couldn't help myself, I laughed, and he laughed too.

XD

Two days later I found myself faced with another audience with the king, and this was due to a small private dinner that I had been invited to. One which I was going to have to dress up for, only I didn't have anything to wear but the clothes on my back. I would have made myself something from my sands, but both the prince and Keilic insisted upon taking me _shopping_.

"Do I _have_ to?" I moaned as the prince drug me onward by my wrist.

"Yes, I'm not giving you a choice." The prince answered flatly.

I groaned, causing Keilic to laugh heartily. But he really didn't know the half of it.

Sure, it had become easier to deal with the bit of crowding that the castle offered, whether it was the servants or the solders in training. I wasn't panicking so much when someone accidentally touched me. Granted I made sure they knew not to do it again, but still, I could tell there _was_ some progress. However, going through the city streets, where I would be bumped into and shouted at by greedy tenders to buy their wares, being looked at, or rather, _gaped_ at…I wasn't entirely sure how I would be able to handle that…

But I was going to try. I could tell that the prince really did want to take me, and for once I was going to do something that _I_ didn't like in order to make _him_ happy. Some of what his dark side said to me that first day had really gotten through to me, and I realized that I'd been doing a lot of taking, and not a lot of giving. So if the prince wanted to take me shopping and dress me up as a doll, I was just going to grit my teeth for once and let him have his fun.

Babylon Market Place was chaotic, loud, and filled with a large range of interesting smells, not all of which were pleasant, but the smell itself it wasn't too bad, really. I found fish, silks, jewelry, and other food stuffs shoved into my face as I passed. I drew quite a lot of attention to myself, that was unavoidable by itself, but you add the crown prince and his cousin and I never had a chance. Everything I had dreaded was popping up and dancing naked in front of me (well, not _literally_), twice as bad, perhaps three times as bad, but…it was strange…I didn't feel so…so…

The images that once always played before my eyes when there were too many people around seemed faded, and distorted. Dead bodies gave way to the live people, the sea of blood was, instead, a sea of commerce, and the screaming? The shouting, the crying? That became the sounds of haggling, of shouted advertisements, of children laughing and running around merrily.

Something happened to me when the prince brought me into the market, something I never thought could be possible. The panic voice in my mind, the memories that once washed over me, all at once they seemed to fade away, until they became nothing but static on a television screen, nothing but white noise, until the television was turned off completely.

Elation, freedom, sheer and utter relief. These sensations swept over me, passing through my very bloodstream, from the very tips of my hair down to my toe nails. It was like being born again, after so long in that chrysalis, I had finally broke free, free.

I was _free_!

I don't think the prince noticed right away, but I knew it had to be obvious. From the carefree way I was completely ignoring the open looks I was attracting right down to the lack of tension in my steps, he had to know, he had to see it. If not now, he would eventually, he would realize what had happen, and he would know what he had done for me that day.

Keilic knew of a good tailor suit to go to, and when we entered the woman who worked there drew me behind a curtain and took a few measurements before offering me some already-made silks to try on, different styles that I could chose from and make my final selection, which would be tailored to my exact proportions.

The woman first took several different colored cloth and held it to my face in front of a mirror. She tried many different kinds, apparently not satisfied with most, but then she set a deep emerald green to my skin, and her firm frown became a wide smile, "Ah ha." She murmured, "_Excellent_!"

"I'm just going to trust you on that." I said.

I picked out the style that I wanted, which she didn't seem to agree with. "That will do you no justice, trust me." She said firmly. I tried another, and she seemed to give up and instead slapped the set that _she_ felt I should wear in front of me.

"I'm not wearing _that_!" I exclaimed. Uncannily aware of how similar it was to _Kaileena's_ outfit, and quite uncomfortable with that fact.

"Oh yes you are." She answered, "Trust me, My Lady, _this_ is the style you want to dine with the _king_." She said.

"Yeah, just so we're clear, I'm not a freak'n concubine!" I exclaimed.

"Just trust the lady, Kaida! She knows what she's talking about and it will be worth it to let her decide what you wear." Keilic called from the other side of the heavy curtain.

"If you want, we can have two dresses made. It's no big deal, and it might be a good idea." Said the prince.

"If that is the case, then we will want to find another color, and you can have your unflattering dress if you like." The woman said, though she rolled her eyes at me.

"Alright, _alright_! What _else_ would you suggest?" I asked, giving up.

The woman was satisfied, and showed me a choice of three other outfits, from which I picked my favorite, and then she began trying out more colors next to my face. "This is a problem because of your hair, eyes, and especially tattoos. We cannot give you light colors, they would look horrible. But you have the complexion for dark colors, at least. Ah!" She said, finding herself satisfied with a deep royal violet color. "Very good, very good. Admittedly a bit expensive, but few women can wear this color as well as you could. All your jewelry should be gold, of course. No silver." She told me, "It would clash with your eyes. I will have these ready by tonight." She said.

"But I don't need them for another two days, you don't have to rush." I told her, alarmed.

"I _don't_ rush." She said, smirking at me and putting away my selections in a small box. "You may dress yourself now." She said, and I did so, "Though _that_ outfit could be far more flattering."

"Yeah, well, it's not exactly suppose to be flattering, it's suppose to be durable." I said, strapping my boots into place.

"What is it that you do which needs it to be durable?" She asked, as though unable to let go of her curiosity.

I smirked at her, "I make grown men cry." I answered cheerfully.

"Oh for the love of—she helps train the solders, Vashti!" Keilic exclaimed.

"_Ah_, so the rumors _are_ true." The woman, Vashti, said, smirking.

"Exactly what _are_ these rumors?" I asked as we walked around the curtain to where the men were waiting.

"That the red-haired woman who arrived with the prince from far away lands battled the greatest warrior in Babylon, and won." She answered. "Few believed it at first, but many solders swore that it happened, and it's said that Orzan himself admitted it was true. I thought it was all just here-say, but I suppose there _is_ truth to it." She said.

"That's actually surprisingly accurate. She _did_ beat him." Keilic said.

"And she _did_ make a grown man cry." The prince said, chuckling.

"Oh _yeah_! I heard about that! The captain that mistakenly tried to sell you to your father as a slave? What _did_ you do to him, by the way?" Asked Keilic.

"Introduced him to Kukwakin." I answered.

Both the prince and Keilic busted out laughing, "Oh! Oh! Tell Vashti the banana story!" He exclaimed, "That's where the joke came from. It's a bit lewd, but it's so funny!" He said.

"Yes, please, I _must_ hear this." Vashti told me.

"Oh fine." I sighed.

X3

Once upon a time there was a banana named Fred, he had arms and legs for no reason whatsoever, and he could fight evil monsters with a pink flamingo, whose name was Kukwakin.

One day Kukwakin decided she no longer liked being used as a thwacking tool, and ran off to find her own place in life.

Poor Fred, without Kukwakin he was no match for the evil monsters, and was eventually eaten by a giant chicken named Bawaka.

Kukwakin saw Bawaka and instantly fell in love. She then spent the rest of her days stalking him. She wrote him love letters, sent bards to his hotel room to play him songs she'd composed herself, and even stood outside his window every night to watch him sleep. She made him afraid of his own shadows, and eventually he had a nervous breakdown, went completely insane, and became her mindless love slave.

X3

"And the moral of this story is, obsessive women are scary. Especially the pink ones. The End." I said.

"Okay, that was not the banana story." Keilic said.

"No, but it was still amusing." Said Vashti laughing. "But now I want to know the _real_ banana story even more."

"Alright, but you asked for it." I said, and this time I _did_ retell that story.

XP

Kaida: FINALLY something _good_ happens to me!!! You can't accuse me of being EMO anymore, HA!!!

Kioko: Heh, you know I never really could. It's not like you cry about every little thing and dye your hair black.

Kaida:…I hate you.

Kioko: Join the club.

DP: YES!!! I get more action! IN YO FACE!!!

Prince: Watch it, I still have to give you control, you know.

DP: That's fine, I'll just become a royal pain in the (beep) until you do.

Rhea: Let's see, who hasn't done the FAQ yet? I KNOW!!! THE SISTERS!!!

Kaida: _WHAT!?_

Sisters: _We get to do the FAQ? Yayyyyyy._

Q: So now the Dark Prince is going to get Kaida too?

A: _Yessss. We like the Dark Priiiiiiince._

DP: O.o…uh…that's the creepiest group of fan girls I have _ever_ seen…I think I'm going to need a restraining order…

Kaida: Um, your really think that'd _work_?

DP: Craaaaaaaap…

Q: How come the prince is okay with this!?

A:_ He's not, but it isn't as though he can do anything, the Dark Prince is so dreamy._

DP: …(Runs away)

Q: So is Kaida slowly becoming less tragic and more happy?

A: _Maybe…you have blood?_

Q: Uh…no, I'm a robot!

A: _We smell blood, we want blood, give it to us._

Q: Er…um…IS KAIDA GOING TO EVENTUALLY ACCEPT THE PRINCE'S HAND IN MARRIAGE!?

A:_ Blood…human blood…fresh…pure…we want blood… _

Q: Are Vashti and Keilic going to hook up?

A: _Noooooo, we don't think sooooo, maybe. Blood?_

Rhea: Uh, I think that's about all for now.

Q: OH THANK GOD! (runs away)

Rhea: Heheheh, read and review!!! The kitty compels you!!! (Pulls out kitty)

Kitty: Mew? RAWR!!! HISSSSSSS!!! (Starts clawing up Rhea's face)

Rhea: GAH! NO!!! BAD KITTY!!! _AH-AH-**CHOO**_!!! (Flames spit out, burning the kitty to a crisp) …T.T NO!!! MY KITTY!!! WAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHH!!!

Kioko: I didn't know you were allergic to cats.

Rhea: (sniff) I'm not, IT'S HAY SEASON!!! WAAAAAAAAAHHHH!!!!


	11. Political Discussion

A/N: (Singing) I hate dresses yes I doooo, I hate dresses how bout youuuuu?!

XP

When we came back to Vashti's house that night, she didn't just give me the package with my clothes in them, she walked me back around the curtain and stood there to make sure I put them on, especially the first one, the emerald green one that looked too much like Kaileena's outfit.

It had been designed with my tattoos in mind, as well as the gashes across my wrists where I put on fingerless gloves that covered them.

It wasn't exactly like Kaileena's outfit, for one it made sure that my right leg was quite visible, only the left one was allowed to hide in the long pieces of fabric. In order to keep my back as visible as possible, she had changed it a bit so that it became a halter top, and also, knowing how uncomfortable I was, she fixed crossing strings over that long gap of a neckline that dipped all the way down to my belly button. There were three parts to the loin cloth, the front and back, and then the extra part on the right side which was fastened there by the golden belt that she'd fixed up for me. Other than the wrappings around the wrists, however, my arms were left bear, as was as much of my neck as she could prevent the dress from covering, and still stay put.

"How does she look?" Asked the prince.

"Beautiful, of course." Answered Vashti, as though the contrary were insulting. "I took the liberty of finding you matching jewelry. I got a very good price for it, and will not ask much in the way of compensation." She said, taking out a box and opening it up to show me what was inside. "Put it on." She ordered.

I decided it would just be easier not to argue and did so. "Perfect." She said.

"Can I see?" The prince asked.

"No, because I'm not wearing—hey!" I exclaimed, as Vashti, conspiring against me, pulled the curtain back to give the prince and Keilic a perfect view.

The prince's mouth fell open, gaping, and while Keilic was a bit better about concealing his surprise, if this went on he, too, would start drooling. "I will get you all for this one day." I said, shaking my fist at both the boys _and_ Vashti.

"Ah, yes, and when all of Babylon is spreading rumors about your beauty rivaling that of the goddesses, I assure you I will be the first to laugh openly and without shame." Vashti told me, rolling her eyes.

"Alright, stop that, I appreciate the compliments, but I'm not _that_ pretty." I said.

"Modest too, I see. That'll get you nowhere." Vashti told me with a small snort.

I decided not to press the subject.

XD

I can't say I was looking forward to the dinner. It was suppose to be 'small', but since when were 'small' dinners planned three to four days in advance? Still, I was far more confident that I would be able to survive at the very least.

I got dressed and 'admired' myself in the mirror. I could sort of see what Vashti meant. There was no doubt that the dress _did_ accent my best features, and it really was a good color for me. You'd think sticking red and green together would make me look like a charismas tree, but it didn't. It went well, and the gold of the jewelry set off my eyes.

I was about to go meet up with the prince, when something caught my eye. There was something odd buried in the pillows over by the table, and when I went to investigate, I found the chest that Keilic had brought me that first day, the one I had meant him to give to the prince himself. It had been completely forgotten somehow. Oh well, I put it away on top of some bookshelves where I could return it to Keilic later.

The prince was waiting for me, wearing a very elegant blue tunic and white pants. He looked nice, though I much preferred him without anything on from the waist up…

X3

"I'm, too sexy for my shirt, too sexy for my shirt, so sexy that it hurts…" He sang, taking off his belt and pulling his tunic up over his head.

"WHOO!" I called.

X3

Okay, no, let's stop that right there before I turn the prince into Kroich…

Before he offered me his hand, the prince looked around the hall, making sure we were alone, and then he pinned me up against the wall by my shoulders and kissed me passionately. "Tonight, make sure you wait for me before taking this off." He murmured in my ear, his hand stroking my bear leg and hooking beneath it to pull it up slightly.

"Mmmm, I'll think about it." I said, running my fingers through his hair. He gave me one last kiss, and backed away. _Then_ he offered me his arm like a gentleman, which made me snicker.

It was a relatively small room, and because of that the furnishings were extravagant. A small congregation of about four musicians were playing in the corner a soft melody as we were bowed into the dining room, where the king was sitting at a table of him, a man I didn't recognize, and five woman whose outfits made me feel very well-dressed indeed.

A space had been kept clear for us at the right hand of the king. We sat down, and the King raised his goblet, "A toast, to the return of my son, and the lady who brought him back to us!" He said. We raised our goblets and drank, only then did the meal start.

The men made small talk among each other about the weather, the war, and whether or not the crops would come in fresh this time around. Stuff that I found extremely boring, though I _did_ keep an ear open when they discussed the war, but I didn't hear anything new and that sucked. Still, I wasn't just going to give up like that.

"Does anyone know what this treasure that was supposedly stolen _is_?" I asked when the conversation turned to the war.

The other man, who turned out to be none other than Keilic's father and the king's brother, gave me a rather fixed smile, and I realized, from the indignant looks on the women's faces, that _we_ weren't suppose to talk unless we were spoken to.

Bull(beep), like I was going to follow _that_ rule.

"Well? Do we?" I asked, as though I couldn't understand why the conversation had suddenly stalled.

"That is a good question, Father." The prince said.

"No, I can honestly tell you that I don't know what it is." Answered the king, shaking his head and frowning to himself.

"Have you…asked?" I questioned.

"There's no point in asking the Indians anything, Lady. I feel this is simply an elaborate scheme cooked up to cause trouble." Answered the duke.

"Ah, I see. So you believe that the Indians are simply putting their entire kingdom, and culture even, on the line to stir up trouble with none other than the greatest city on earth, over a falsified tale of some simple treasure. It seems to me that if that were the case, they would make the indignity quite a bit more important. Accusing Babylon of kidnapping a person of royalty and killing them would be a better story. It seems to me that they're telling the truth. Whatever this treasure is, it is very important, enough that they don't even want its description or purpose to be leaked out to the public. I don't believe this is any ordinary treasure, either, nor that they want it back for the usual reasons." I said.

"The usual reasons? What do you mean?" Asked the king.

"I sincerely doubt that India really believes it can win an all-out war with Persia, but they're going to try anyway, aren't they? The Maharaja isn't stupid, else India would have fallen long before now. No, there has to be a reason why he would risk his people like this, and I doubt it has to do with the value of the item in and of itself." I said.

"Do you, perhaps, know something we don't?" Asked the duke smoothly.

"No, I am simply looking at the situation from a point of view that you haven't considered yet, obviously. I'd been thinking about it ever since I heard India was at war with Persia over the theft of an item. Because it seemed like such a silly thing to throw yourself into a war you can't win over. I've also been wondering if Persia hasn't been, well, framed."

"Framed?" Asked the king, now interested, "Explain, please."

"Think about it, who would go to the trouble of stealing such an item if it wasn't to create war? An enemy of India could have come in and framed Persia for the theft of the item, knowing that India would declare war and, eventually, fall before Persia. This is, of course, just a theory. The thief could just as easily decided to frame Persia so that _he_ could get away with the item. And then again, this item has to have been very heavily guarded if it's so valuable. Not just anyone could have taken it. What if it were someone from the court of India itself with the intention of making war? I don't know about you, but I wouldn't appreciate being used like that." I said.

"Of course, this is all just a theory, though you—" But the king held up his hand to silence his brother, he was looking at me as though he'd not quite seen me properly before, and I could tell he was thinking hard about what I'd said.

"What you say makes sense." He said to me, "But if what you're supposing is no mere theory, if it turns out to be true, what would you propose we do about it? Or, rather, do to find out if it is or not?" He asked.

"Well, that's what ambassadors are for, isn't it?" I asked.

"Why, yes, I believe it is. But what if they refuse to speak to our ambassador?" He asked.

"I don't see what they could gain by doing that, and I doubt they would simply send him away without another word. Anything they had to say would be worth hearing, though I would caution against outright accusing one of their own of the deed." I answered.

"Thank you very much, Kaida, I shall certainly think about your suggestion. It may be that this _is_ the work of some devil, and I agree with you. If that is the case, we don't want to let him get away with this. But why don't we turn our attention to more pleasant matters. Zerfa, I hear your mother is doing better, do you know whether they believe if she'll recover?" Asked the king, addressing one of the five women that were there.

Zerfa immediately seized this chance to join into the conversation and began going into a very long-winded report about how her mother was doing very well thanks to the king's generous contributions and even if she never fully recovers she will at least live to a ripe old age and it was ever so good of the king to come to her aid.

She talked like those girls you see on TV which _never stop_. The other girls, I soon learned, weren't quite as bad, but they _did_ seem a bit too intent upon making sure their voices were heard. And they continuously shot me filthy looks while no one else was paying attention to them, which, I felt, was due to the fact that I had grabbed all the attention at the beginning.

The King then began explaining to us the girls' backgrounds, and then asked them to tell us what sort of talents they possessed. It was only then when I realized _exactly_ why these girls were here.

They were potential concubines for the prince to take in order to have offspring. Only from the way they were acting, they didn't know this. They thought that they were here to fight for the prince's hand in marriage, which was why they were giving me such a cold reception. I was an obstacle for them.

When I was really there to approve the prince's choice myself.

A bitter feeling of resentment welled in my chest at this realization, mixed with a tangle of conflicting thoughts and emotions I couldn't make sense of.

The fact of the matter was that if I _did_ marry the prince, he wouldn't be so much as _touching_ another woman. But at the same time there was my resolution _not_ to marry him, and if he _did_ marry another woman, _I_ was not going to become the concubine. That would be the end of everything that couldn't be considered a simple friendship between us, because I was _not_ sharing him with another woman. It was all or nothing, period. And the Dark Prince was just going to have to _deal_ with it.

When the last girl had described how she use to arrange the flowers in her house, she gave me a very dewy smile and asked, in a sugary sweet voice, "What talents do _you_ have, miss Kaida?"

_As in 'talents' meaning abilities that are no real use to anyone but which men like to see in women strictly for entertainment purposes? Nope, sorry, got none of those. But I **can** perform complicated math problems in my head and describe, in detail, how the human eye perceives color._ Yeah, that's what I _wanted_ to say, but instead what came out was, "I can make grown men cry." Which, in retrospect, probably wasn't any better.

"Oh for the love of—she can _sing_, father." The prince said, rolling his eyes at me. But the king was laughing.

"Can you? You must know songs from many other lands! Sing for us." The king said, looking delighted.

I glared at the prince, who just smiled encouragingly at me, "I'm going to get you back for this." I told him through clenched teeth as I resigned myself to my fate.

At first I had to think of something _to_ sing, I was going to sing Undying again, when another came through my mind. Razorbliss. I closed my eyes and began to sing.

_War, where you go, where you hide, where you burn_  
_War, where we go, where we ride, where we turn _

_Comfort the blind, serpents to gods  
__Pray for the night when the seed will understand  
__Carry your light, stand up to fall all alone  
__It's Razorbliss for you _

_Of godhuman nature  
__It's razorbliss for all  
__Get down for the maker  
__Ignite a fire to save us all _

_War, where you go, where you hide, where you burn  
__War, where we go, where we ride, where we turn _

_Break up the fight, wait for the call  
__Pray for the time when we scream your name again  
__Sent to deny, ready to fall all alone  
__This razor's meant for you _

_Of godhuman nature  
__It's razorbliss for all  
__Get down for the maker  
__Ignite a fire to save us all _

(A/N: You can actually download this song at their website http://www.flowingtears.de/ for free. I highly recommend it too! It's a good song, though I suppose it depends on your taste)

There was a round of polite applause, but the duke murmured something in the King's ear, and the girls were whispering among themselves, "Do you even _know_ any happy songs?" The prince asked me almost indignantly.

"Happy songs never really held much interest for me. When you're depressed you don't really want to listen to happy songs, they grate on the nerves. If music is to be at all soothing it has to match the mood that you're in, not counter it and try to make you _happy_. It's the same way with literature. When one feels angry, reading a story filled with rage becomes an outlet for that anger. Music and literature with negative emotions helps to clear the system of those very emotions. It may not always work, but a happy song would do worse." I answered. "I do know some love songs though." I said.

Yeah, it's just where they_ came_ from that's the issue. Silent Hill has love songs in it, it's just the game itself that makes them eerie.

"Sing us one of _those_ then." Said the King, though he looked amused.

XD

"Well, that could have gone worse." I said, smoothing out my dress as we walked back towards our rooms.

"Yes, it most certainly could have." The prince told me. "You've made quite the impression on both my father _and_ my uncle, though I don't know that my uncle likes the idea of a women who has enough intelligence to tell silk from satin, much less one who's _smarter_ than him." He said, grinning and making me bust out laughing.

"Well he's just going to have to get use to it, isn't he? Because in my 'land', women are just as well educated as men, and stereotypically put a bit more effort into their education to boot. So _there_." I said, making him laugh.

"Yes, I figured that out for myself a long time ago, probably when you started talking about other lands and their cultures, which _I_ don't even know about. You even know of our gods and goddesses." He said, laughing.

"They're initially the same as the Hittite and Egyptian gods and goddesses. Just as the Greek and Roman gods and goddesses are the same, but with different names." I said.

"And what of the gods in your land?" He asked me curiously.

"Don't know any personally." I answered, "We've sort of gone past the point where we have to blame every single turn of events upon some higher being in my society, and I think if gods really do exist, then he, she, it, or _they_ hate my guts and are just waiting for the day when I kick the bucket and they can watch me burn in hell, Hades, or 'the underworld'. No heaven, Valhalla, Elysian Fields, or Valley of the Kings for me, unfortunately." I said.

"You don't know that." He said, sounding slightly alarmed.

"Of course I don't know that, no one knows that. Why do you think all these cultures come up with their own versions of the afterlife? Because the biggest fear of death is that we don't know what happens to us when we die, and people want to fix that by coming up with all these religions. That's all it is, is fear. We like thinking the world is in the hands of some supreme being, and maybe it is, maybe there is some great creator out there who made the earth and the heavens and watches over us and controls all the substantial things like the weather, the ecosystems, and the earth's orbiting. But excuse me for feeling as though I must have done something seriously wrong in a past life to make he, she, it, or _them_ furious at me." I sighed and ran my fingers through my hair, "At least I have Sacrosanct looking out for me, even if that isn't much of a comfort." I said.

"She brought you to me." The prince said, taking my hand.

I smiled, and kissed him on the cheek, "Yes, but for what motive?" I murmured. "Goodnight sweet prince." I said, winking at him and then entering my room, where I made sure to bolt the door shut and wait for him (and, yes, his darker counterpart) to show up.

XP

Kioko: It's true, happy songs _are_ annoying when you're depressed, angry, or—

Prince: Sadistic?

Kioko: Oh, ha! That's humor isn't it!?

DP: No, _this_ is humor: Your mom.

Kioko: My mom was a b(beep) so you can say anything you like about her and I'll probably agree with you.

DP: Well that sucks.

Kioko: Yeah, the 'your mom' insults are quite funny, but not so much when they don't work.

Rhea: My mommy was a crystal dragon!!!

Kioko: Yeah that's great, no one cares.

Rhea: ;.;

DP: I think I'd like to do the FAQ again.

Kaida: You think?

DP: Okay, yes, I'd like to do the FAQ again.

Kaida: You just did it not long ago!

DP: So?

Rhea: (Sniff) FINE!!! You can do the FAQ!!! But only if you tell me my mommy is beautiful!!!

DP: Uh, why?

Rhea: DUH!!! She's a crystal dragon!!! They look like dragons made of crystal!!! SEE!? (Pulls out picture of her mommy)

DP: -.-''' Okay, fine, you're mommy is beautiful…(grumble grumble)

Rhea: GLEE!!!

Q: So, what's in the box Keilic left in Kaida's room?

A: Something stupid and sentimental that we're never going to use and which has no real purpose other than to give the author something pointless to write about. She's good at doing that too.

Rhea: Heyyyyyyy…

Q: So Dark Prince, do you like Kaida's dress too:)

A: You have to ask? HECK YEAH!!! Though it looked better on the floor in my opinion.

Kaida: You man-whore.

A: 'Man-whore'!? What the heck happened to just calling me a horny pig!?

Kaida: 'Man-whore' is less cliché and more creative. Heheh.

Q: So does Kaida have a good voice?

A: Hm, a good _woman's_ voice, no. Her singing voice is very deep and powerful, it's _different_ which is the reason why us ancient Persians like to listen to it so much, and so are the songs she sings themselves. All in all, I'd say she could use a good deal of practice, but she's definitely not bad enough that her vocals might annoy someone if she were to start singing to herself absant-mindedly.

Kaida: Gee, thanks for the critical analysis of my voice, now maybe you'd like to give your professional opinion about my artistic abilities! (Shows him a bad stick-figure drawing of him, which is only recognizable by the smoky hair and daggertail)

A: Hey now, _they_ asked! And you'd have gotten mad at me if I just said it was perfect and left it at that.

Kaida: Since when did you know that much about music and vocals?!

A: There are a lot of things you don't know about me, (grins) perhaps we could go somewhere private and…_talk_?

Kaida: Uh, buddy, you're suppose to be doing the FAQ!

Q: So how come the king was automatically so taken with—

A: COULD YOU CHILL OUT FOR ONE SECOND!? I'M TRYING TO MAKE A MOVE HERE!!!

Q: But I—

A: (To Kaida) Let's just ditch these losers and go have some fun. :)

Kaida: …What did you have in mind?

Prince: What tha—HEY!!! I thought _I_ came first!!!

A: I _told_ you this _how_ many times? I am a far more awesome character than you are, so back off, and let the _real _men work.

Prince: _Excuse_ me!?

Rhea: Okay! I think that's enough for now! See you all next time!!! R&R yo!!!


	12. The Dark Sword

A/N: BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!

Kioko: What was that for?

Rhea: Nothing, I just like to laugh evilly for no reason!

Kioko: - -'''

XP

I was invited again to the King's table for supper the next day, but this wasn't really a formal dress sort of thing, nor was it any kind of celebration.

It was a tactical discussion, and this time around I was there as an advisor.

Orzan was there, and he greeted me with enthusiasm, shaking my hand like an old friend, and taking the seat on my right, with the prince on my left and the king himself on the _prince's_ left. There were four other men there, and they all seemed to be sizing me up, though they neither said anything, nor displayed any obvious signs of distain. Perhaps they wouldn't in front of the king. And there, also, was the duke.

I preferred to listen rather than speak at first, watching everyone around the table, especially those four I didn't know, and trying to catch something, _anything_ that might be hiding beneath the surface. But either these men were very good at hiding whatever it is they were hiding, or I was looking for a needle in the wrong haystack.

I listened hard until I actually heard something new. Apparently this meeting wasn't solely about discussing the war itself. Egypt had apparently heard of what was going on, and had sent a delegation with some unique gift for the king's castle. And the King was rather suspicious of this action. Those who were bringing the gift were being made to wait until they came to a decision about this gift, and whether they should even look at it.

Once he made sure that was all explained, he turned and said, looking directly in my eyes, "What do _you_ think, Kaida?"

"Me? Well, I admit it does seem suspicious." I answered, almost tasting the tense silence that followed the king's words, "There is the possibility that it was Egypt which stole the treasure from India and framed Persia, and is now attempting to plant the incriminating piece of evidence in the city. However, if that were the case, I sincerely doubt they would do it in such an obvious manner. It would be too easy to show this evidence to the Indians, and then where would Egypt be? It would have two powerful nations angry with it. India for the theft itself, and Persia for Egypt's attempt to use it in order to get rid of India." I said.

"But Egypt and India are supposedly allies, just as they are with us, what could they gain with letting Persia take over India?" Asked the Prince.

"Exactly. I think this is exactly what it looks like. Egypt is telling Persia where its loyalties lie, and that's with Babylon. A wise move, I'd say. But at the same time if you _did_ go to war, and Egypt rose to defend India, would their combined forces be enough to take Babylon down? And if so, why offer the hand of friendship when they could expand their own territories through this war? Still, I don't really believe that Egypt started this mess in the first place, but the circumstances are suspicious enough as it is. Perhaps we should see the object itself and make judgments then." I said.

"I agree. Bring them in." The king said, nodding to his guards.

A few minutes later a number of Egyptian men entered the room, one of which was carrying a long, ornate chest which was locked tightly, another, a more richly dressed one, stepped forward and bowed low before the table. "We bring this gift from Pharaoh himself. May our nations prosper together in harmony." He said.

The chest was laid before the king, and the ambassador gave him the key to it. The king unlocked it, and when he opened it, his eyebrows raised high into his head. He was clearly impressed, with _what_, though, I couldn't say.

"It is said," The ambassador went on, not caring that no one else could see the treasure, "That this sword will forever remain in the dark crystal, until the day that its one true master lays his hand upon the stone and shatters it. This is, of course, simply legend, but no one knows how the blade was crystallized like this, nor where it came from. The Pharaoh feels that Egypt should not be the only nation to enjoy it's beauty, and that if the one true master is out there, there should be more of an opportunity for that man to take what is his own." He said.

"It is very impressive." Said the King, and he passed it over to the prince, whose eyes widened when he saw it.

I looked over his shoulder, and saw what had to be the most beautiful blade I'd ever lain eyes on.

It was double edged and straight, like my own swords, and probably about two inches wide. It was made of some black crystal, and there were golden symbols all along the flat of the blade. At the hilt was a mirror the size of a watch face, and around it there was a detailed carving of a woman-like figure, holding the mirror above her head, her wings arching up and becoming the sleek hand guard, which curved up along the blade elegantly, and her hair became the vines which also came down to create the handle. Those same vines seemed to be what held the blade itself to that mirror, and at first glance it looked as though trying to use it would make the whole thing break, because it didn't look very secure there, but then, this was obviously no ordinary sword. The hilt itself was made of some dark iridescent material, metallic with greens and violets and blues and reds in the mix. And the jewels upon it seemed to be misty and dull, as though the blade were asleep and waiting to come alive for its master.

It was completely encased in a long, faintly violet crystal, which was smooth and would have been worth millions by itself, even without the sword.

There was no mistaking how valuable this was, and while I knew it most certainly was _not_ the 'treasure' that was stolen from India, there was something…sinister about it. Beautiful, but sinister.

The prince passed it to me so I could inspect it better, and I did so. There was something about those symbols that I…that I…

"There's writing on it." I murmured.

"Writing? I don't see any words, how can there be writing?" Asked the prince, taking another look. I had turned the blade so that it was facing directly away from me rather than sitting across, and I stood up so that I could see it better.

"It's in Kanji." I told him, "Chinese writing. Hang on…"

"You, there's words there? And you can _read_ them?" Asked the ambassador, breathlessly.

I waved at him to silence him, trying my best to read the characters. I could only just recognize them, but after a moment, something clicked, and their meaning seemed to flow right into my mind. "'Creation was the first, Destruction was the second, and Harmony the third. Know that I serve only one master, and to use me is to use an inferno that no man can contain…' no, '_control_. I shall destroy the nations of my wielder's enemies just as I shall destroy the nations of my wielder. I shall weave your desires into the noose that you shall hang upon, and turn all that you love into the insects that shall partake of your flesh. Be warned all who raises me above his head and declares himself my master. I have but one master, and one master alone. Any man who says I am his slave, shall himself become a slave to me.'" I looked up, seeing that all eyes were upon me. But they were not looking at _me_, and their expressions were of horror and disbelief. "Well," I said, wanting to lighten the mood a bit, "It's looks like we know _why_ it's encased in crystal. No one can use it like this, so it looks like we're safe." I said, snapping the lid shut. But I too was shaken. This sounded a lot like the One Ring, only in blade form, and which very obviously had consequences for using it. Like all those macabre stories about wishes and how terribly wrong they always go. Stories about monkey paws came to mind, and I couldn't help but shudder slightly.

"Oh goodness…the sword, it…that's what it said? That's what?" The Ambassador asked faintly, and there was no mistaking the fact that he had no idea what had been written on the blade himself. "But it has only brought us fortune, that sword, how, why…" And this time he _did_ faint.

"This wasn't on purpose." I told the king, "There was no way they could have known what was written on the blade, and because it's sealed there was no way they could discover its true nature by using it. Your Majesty, I believe this is exactly what it looks like, I believe this is an act of friendship, and that the Pharaoh has just given Persia one of his greatest treasures. There was no way they could have known it was such a dangerous object. And I don't believe this is really the object that was stolen from India either. However, that is just my opinion, you, of course, have the final say in the matter." I said, and I passed the box back to the king, who used the key in his possession to lock it back up.

He was looking grim, but he turned to me and said, "For the time being, we are going to give Egypt the benefit of the doubt that they didn't know. However, when I send my own ambassador to India, I will make sure he carries with him a sealed description of this object, just to make absolutely sure it is not the item in question. We'll take this as a token of friendship, however," He frowned at the box, "I do not like the idea of keeping such an object in my possession."

"I agree." Said one of the advisors at once, "Your Majesty, I ask that you allow me to take care of the sword, I will make sure that it is destroyed." He said.

"I wouldn't advise it." I said, "If you try to destroy the sword, you may only end up breaking the crystal, and _that_ would be _worse_." I sighed, rubbing my forehead with my finger, "What we need is an active volcano…" I murmured, thinking about the One Ring and Mt. Doom.

"What is a 'volcano'?" Asked the king.

"It's a mountain of fire." Answered the prince to my slight surprise, "I saw one once, it was a force of nature. From out of the top came smoke and liquid flames that left only a barren wasteland and lasted for days before it would cool. If one wanted to destroy something utterly, a volcano would be more than adequate." He said, "But there are no such mountains in Persia, we would have to travel across the sea."

**_"Simple volcanic fires would be no match against that sword, Kaida. It's from another world, just like you, just like the previous Empress."_** Sacrosanct told me.

"Though we're not even sure what kind of blade this is, it could just as easily be completely indestructible. But just burying it or throwing it into the ocean where there's even the smallest, tiniest chance of it being uncovered again would be a bad idea." I said.

The king's face was contorted with deep thought, his fingers rapping upon the ornate chest before him, and his other hand rubbing his beard as he considered what to do. The Egyptian ambassador was being roused, and his fellow seemed to be telling him what had just conspired.

"I would like to speak with my son and my brother alone on this matter. The rest of you will wait until I have the doors reopened." He said. And I understood that 'son' and 'brother' did not include myself, and I got up to leave along with the others.

"Are you alright?" I asked the Egyptian, concerned as he tried to struggle to his feet in order to leave himself.

"I, I cannot get up!" he gasped. The poor guy, his fellows had already left the room, which seemed rather inconsiderate of them.

"Well, d(beep)." I said, so I decided to help him out, seeing as no one _else_ was lending a hand. Jerks.

"Sweet, merciful, Ishtar!" He gasped when I picked him up and began carrying him easily out the door, a round of laughter from both the King and the Prince following me out. "You are _strong_!" He exclaimed in a _very_ impressed voice.

When his fellows saw me carrying him in, they stared with wide eyes, and so did most of the advisors, in fact they _all_ stared, only Orzan was laughing as I set him down. "Bend your knees so that you can hold your legs up, that'll help your blood flow, and breath into this." I said, grabbing a pouch from the Manor and handing it to him, pretending I'd gotten it off my belt.

"What help would this be?" He asked, but he did as I told him to.

"The air you breathe in and the air you breathe out are different, and you require a balance of both in your system. You hyperventilated, that's what happens when you start breathing to fast. It creates an imbalance and you have to breathe back in the air you breathe out for a while so that balance will return." I explained. I doubted very much that he really understood what I was saying, but what he _did_ seem to understand was that I knew what I was talking about, because I could see the color returning to his face as he breathed into the bag I gave him.

After a moment, he stood up, and gave me back my bag. "Thank you very much, My Lady." He said, staring at me in awe. As were his fellows, all of whom gasped in awe when the ambassador stood up again. "I have never been able to stand up so soon after I…what was it you said I did?" He asked

"Hy-per-ven-til-at-ed." I answered slowly, "And you're welcome. At least _someone_ listens to me." I said, catching Orzan's eyes, and he grinned.

"I've been sworn to secrecy, but I'll tell you anyway. That doctor you accosted about his practices followed your advice for a young lad who was dying from his wounds, and he tried your methods. The boy was back in the training grounds three days later." He told me, and I busted out laughing.

"Haha!" I said victoriously, "I win!" I exclaimed.

"You are truly a wise woman indeed." Said the ambassador in a husky voice, as though he were now in awe of me for some reason.

"Strong too. They say I'm the greatest warrior in Babylon, but the first day I met this woman she challenged me to a battle and I lost. What's worse is each time I fought her after that she beats me that much more easily." He said.

"It's because you use the same moves over and over again! It might be harder if you would _surprise_ me once and a while." I said.

"I try! But none of my surprise moves work on you!" He answered.

"It's because you use the exact same ones the prince does, and I know his fighting style like the back of my hand with how much I watched him. You give yourself away too easily, I can tell from the look in your eyes, your posture, the way you position your swords, right down to your body language what you're about to do, and a quarter of a second is all I need to plan a defensive maneuver. I can even tell when you're about to pull a fake out on me. You simply need to become harder to read is all." I told him.

Orzan threw his hands in the air, "Ye gods, woman! You're telling me that in order to beat you I have to completely switch fighting styles! You simply have the reflexes of a cat and I cannot compete." He told me. I laughed, and so did the ambassador.

We made some small talk, but it wasn't long after that when the door was opened, and out came the duke, who had the look of a man trying his best to school his features, but was raging on the inside. I didn't understand the chilling look he gave me, that is until he said, "The King wishes to speak with you alone, Lady." He said, giving me a bow that I could tell was meant to be mocking.

I gave him a look of slight confusion before I went inside, and the guard shut the door behind me. Well, of course he would be mad, he was being sent out of the chamber, and _I_ was being brought in. How was he suppose to take that? There was only one way this could look to the others, and that was that the king had decided he preferred _my_ advice to his own. _Ouch_.

I walked up to the table, but had the funny feeling I should stay standing, so I did, and the King gave me a rather piercing, but not unkind look. He was thinking hard.

"Kaida." He began, "I hope you will forgive me for saying this, but I have been in the process of gathering information on you from those you have interacted with these past days of your stay here. Rumors of your strength and prowess in battle are numerous, of course, but I've also spoken with many of the men that you help Orzan to train, and I have only heard good reports. You have proven to me, personally, that you have an intelligence which is almost…otherworldly. I would not be surprised at all if rumors were spread that you are, in fact, a goddess reborn. I feel I can trust you, even though Persia is not your land and you have been staying in Babylon as an honored guest.

"However, that's only half the reason I have come to this decision. My son has informed me that you possess a talent which allows you to hide items so thoroughly, it is as though they don't even exist. Not only that, but it is like you carry these items with you as well, and if I were to entrust this sword to you, you would not only guard it with your life, but you would keep it in such a way that even if you were to die, you would still have it with you, and no one would ever be able to lay a hand upon it ever again. But before I make this decision public to my advisors and to the Egyptian Ambassador, I would like to ask you to prove this miracle to me, just as I would like to ask you if you have no objections to becoming the guardian of this blade."

I took a deep breath, and nodded.

I then began taking objects out of the air, plucking them out, as though I were holding a bag in front of me and were simply pulling them out of that. Books staked up on the table in front of me, two bags of flower that the prince and I had once used as pillows. The comb I had been keeping with me, a necklace of cursed jewels that had been among Kaileena's more dangerous treasures, a mirror that didn't show its holder's reflection, only what was behind them, and the glowing yellow sword that happened to be a secondary weapon of the prince (You know, the one that does the ridiculous amount of damage but makes you weaker as you use it?) all found their way onto that table, as well as a bucket of water.

"Satisfied?" I asked the king's stunned, disbelieving expression, knowing full well I had just pulled out, from _thin air_, enough items that one would need a camel to transport them long distances. Now there was just the question of whether I was willing or not…

And I wasn't sure I was.

**_"That's really not something humans should have in their possession Kaida, not even you. The difference is that you have somewhere to keep it where it will be forever hidden from any who mistakenly tries to use its power."_** Sacrosanct told me.

She was right, so I swallowed, and said, "And I except the responsibility for the sword. I won't soon forget the amount of faith you have in me." Oh yes, great line, for a B-movie.

It suited the King, though, and he waited for me to get everything back into the Manor before sending me to the door in order to tell the others they could come in now. He made a small speech about his reasoning as to why he was giving the sword to me, and told the Ambassador that I was a worthy keeper of the sword, but to return to Egypt with the news that he, the king, will still treat the sword as a gift from a friendly nation. The Ambassador didn't seem to need convincing that I was a worthy keeper, though, so that went along smoothly concerning _him_.

It was the duke and the other advisors who had a problem with this.

The King formally presented me with the sword, still in its chest, and gave me the key.

I carried the chest myself back to my rooms, the prince following me, and I could tell from the looks on the faces of those advisors that they didn't intend to let me get away with this. Little did they know there was really nothing they could do about it, but they'd soon find out that the king didn't simply pick me to be the sword's keeper on a simple whim.

The moment we were in my room I banished the chest and key into the Manor, and let out a heavy breath that I hadn't realized I was holding. The prince put a hand on my shoulder, as if to steady me, "Sorry, I wasn't sure what to tell him. He asked me directly if I thought you would make a good guardian, and I thought I should tell him how you were able to make things disappear like that, though it was hard to do so without my uncle hearing, I think that's what made him so mad, but I knew that you wouldn't like it if I let him know too." He said.

"No, I wouldn't, and thank you for not letting him know. Though I really haven't made any friends this way." I said, running my fingers through my hair. "Still, Sacrosanct told me the sword was from another world. I wonder if it wasn't one of Kaileena's treasures…and whether or not she attempted to get rid of it by sealing it in that crystal and tossing it into the sea or something for it to find its way to Egypt." I said.

"Too bad we can't ask her." The prince said, frowning. "I'm glad you were able to read that writing, though. Think of what might have happened if someone managed to break through the crystal! We may have just avoided a serious catastrophe."

"And that's another thing." I said, frowning now, "Don't you think it's odd?" I asked him.

"Odd? What's odd?"

"It's just…something doesn't seem quite right about this. Isn't it strange that, out of some random chance, I, the only person who could have possibly read that writing, was one of the first people in Persia to set eyes on the blade?" I asked.

"How could it be anything other than a coincidence?" Asked the Prince, "Egypt couldn't even read that writing, how would they know those marks were even characters? And how would they know that you're even _here_, much less the fact that you can read that kengi."

"Kanji, and I know, but it just doesn't…it doesn't add up!" I exclaimed, pacing around the room, thinking hard. "It's not just that I can read it…the king could just as easily have given it to one of the advisors whom he's known for much longer than I, he could have given it to his _brother_ to watch over even! But he gave it to _me_. Why? Because I can make it disappear? One would think that, sealed away as it is and practically harmless in that crystal shell, the king would prefer to place it on display. It's beautiful, no doubt about that, one could stare at it for hours on end. But he didn't do that, he gave it to _me_. Have you known your father to do something like this on a whim?" I asked him.

"He, he obviously felt you were the best person for the job. And you _were_ the one who read the writing. If it weren't for you we would never have known the danger that sword could be." He told me.

"But so long as its in that crystal it's _not_ dangerous, it can't be _used_ like that."

"So are you trying to say that you think there's something going on here? That there's someone pulling the strings, and my father's in on it?" He asked me.

"I have _no idea_. But that's the problem. I don't think for a second this sword found it's way into my hands by _accident_, but I'm d(beep)ed if I know how or _why_." I answered, sighing. "Gods I'm tired…" I murmured.

The prince kissed me lightly on the lips. "Then go on to bed." He told me, "I'll join you in a few minutes. We'll just sleep this time, is that alright with you?" He asked, giving me an ironic smile.

I sighed dramatically, "Oh very well." I said with a theatrical groan that made him laugh.

"Goodnight." He said loudly, leaving my room so that I could bolt the door shut behind him.

I used my sands to blow out the torches from my room, I shed my clothes and traded them for the silken robe I'd taken to sleeping in. After slipping under the covers, I only had to wait a few minutes before the prince's warm body enveloped me, and only then did I allow myself to nod off.

But I couldn't sleep for some reason, there was something burning in the back of my mind, something bothering me, and I found myself waking back up only after a few minutes of sleep, not knowing why nor what had woken me up.

And then I heard it. I heard her, Sacrosanct, chuckling ever-so-softly in my ear. A sound which sent shivers up my spine.

**_"Good girl."_** She whispered in a _very_ pleased voice.

XP

Rhea: The plot thickens, MUAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!

DP: When do I get to meet Sacrosanct, by the way?

Rhea: Next chapter, though it'll only be briefly. Also, I don't really have time for the FAQ today, I have a friend's graduation to get ready to go to so, yeah, see yall in the next chapter!!! And make sure you review and stuff!!!

Kioko: Because writers are neurotic self-concious wrecks that need praise for their work otherwise they get upset and throw it against the wall.

Rhea: I don't throw stuff against the wall…the poor wall hasn't done anything to me!

Kioko: (_sigh_)…


	13. I Do

A/N: …Heheheheh, HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!

XP

**"Farah!!!" I gasped, grabbing onto her wrist before she fell. **

**"Empress!" She exclaimed, grasping my arm tightly, "Empress please! Help me!" **

**"I'm trying." I said, and indeed I was. I was putting all my strength into pulling her up, but every time I put more effort into it, the weaker I was becoming. **

**"N-no, not here, not—help me please! I made a mistake! I'm afraid, I don't know what to do!!! Zervan knows, he _knows_! I don't know what he intends to do! Please, please help me! I'm so afraid!" She cried. **

**"The-the ring!" I said, panicking, "You have it?" **

**"Yes! Yes I have it but I don't know how to use it!" She cried. **

**"It can make you invisible, but you have to be careful." I told her. **

**"How?!" **

**"I don't know! I don't know just _will_ it to make you invisible!" I exclaimed, my strength was waning. **

**"The inscription! Tell me what the inscription says! Maybe that's the spell!" She cried. **

**"It says, 'One ring to rule them all, one ring to find them, one ring to take them all, and in the darkness bind them'." I answered, not knowing what good it would do, but telling her anyway. Perhaps it was the way to activate it, perhaps it would make her confident enough to control the ring's power. I didn't know, but my grip was slipping. **

**She fell, and I dove down to follow her into the darkness. I reached out for her as she screamed, but she simply became farther, and farther away, until…**

XD

I awoke with a start, gasping, and then putting a hand over my mouth so as not to wake the prince.

Hoping not to rouse him, I slowly slipped out of his arms, and replaced myself with a pillow, which he held onto tightly, his brow furrowing as if he somehow sensed that I was no longer there with him.

XD

**_"What do you think you're doing!?"_**

_What does it look like I'm doing? I'm **leaving**!!!_

**_"You can't leave, Kaida. Not like that. What will the prince is going to think?"_**

_Just shut up, you're so full of s(beep)! You can stop pretending to be concerned with the prince now, I know you're planning something. I may not know what or why, but I **do** know that the fact that you don't want me leaving is a **good** sign._

**_"You are making a mistake."_**

_Give me one good reason why I should stay._

**_"Where do you intend to go?"_**

_You have to ask? India of course. I'm going to find Farah and, if I can, expose Zervan for what he is._

**_"You are making a mistake."_**

_And you are repeating yourself. _

**_"They will eat you alive out there, you know. Here in this palace you are given preferential treatment, your little quirks are tolerated, and you've proven yourself a warrior so no one will challenge you. If you go out there on your own, your lack of knowledge is going to get you into trouble, trouble that a little blade-dancing isn't going to fix this time around."_**

_Then I'll just have to be extra careful and go in disguise. _

**_"And the prince?"_**

I paused, half hating myself for Sacrosanct, half knowing she was right. I couldn't just leave, what if he thought I intended to leave for good, that I wasn't coming back? He'd come after me, and he would probably have an easy time following my trail.

I didn't know if it would keep him from coming after me, but at least it was something. I slipped the scrunchie I always used to pull my hair up into a ponytail from my head, and placed it into his hand. I kissed him, and murmured an apology to him before turning to head for the balcony.

I looked around while I stood there braiding my hair and tying it with a ponytail holder I made from my sands. Just like in the games, there was a way down. I soon saw a pathway that only a skilled acrobat could use, and I felt fairly confident in my abilities, especially after all that time in the Babylonian training grounds.

I swung around the edge of the balcony and scooted over, aiming for the pole that was behind me. But before I could jump, I felt two hands on my wrists, holding me tightly, and pulling me right back over the railing. "Where are you going?" The prince asked in a shaky voice, his tone, hurt, and his grip on my shoulders was almost painful.

"India." I answered. His eyes widened in surprise, and I stared right back into his face, knowing full well this was no coincidence, that he did _not_ wake up for no reason, and loathing Sacrosanct with every breath for this. "And don't try to stop me, because I know you're going to, and I'm going to tell you right now that the only reason you woke up is because, for some reason, _Sacrosanct_ does not want me to go anywhere." I told him.

His eyes widened, and his grip lessoned, but he shook his head, "No, I woke up because I could no longer feel your body in my arms. Just tell me _why_ Kaida. If you have to go to India, why don't you go with father's Ambassador?" He asked.

"Because I don't want anyone to know it's me, and because I didn't want you trying to follow me. I have to go, Prince. _Something_ is going on, and it isn't a war. The treasure that was stolen from India was none other than the Dagger of Time itself, and it was stolen by the vizier, Zervan, two years ago, the same night that _you_ accidentally found yourself inside the palace walls after having narrowly escaped the Dahaka. The blame was put upon you, but you're going to have a job proving it."

"How—how do you know all of this?" Asked the prince, and I gave him a wry smile.

"I am the Empress of Time, and apparently there's a lot more to that than a title and the power to manipulate time and sands. The Maharaja's daughter and I shared a dream a while back that I never told you about. She told me it was the dagger, and visions came to both of us, showing us what really happened the night you found yourself beneath her balcony. I just had another dream with her, and she's in trouble. I'm going to go help her, and you," I kissed him, "Are going to stay here, and look to see whether Zervan hasn't planted the dagger in the palace, or anywhere else in Persia. If you do find it, do _not_ be caught holding it, whatever you do. You're already suspected. Just keep it safe for the time being." I said.

"And what if I wanted to go with you?" he asked, pointedly.

"You can't, that would be a very bad idea, Prince." I told him.

"What if I don't care?"

"You can't let your feelings for a single person outweigh the needs of the multitude you rule over. 'The needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few', your people need you. Just make sure you keep close tabs on your dark side, because I'm not going to be here to make him behave." I answered.

The prince's expression fell into one of despair and he gathered me in his arms, holding me tightly. "If I let you go…" He whispered, "If I let you go now, will I ever see you again?"

"Yes, Prince. I promise you I'm coming back." I told him, wrapping my arms around him. "You've done…so much for me, more than you realize, more than you will ever really understand. Because of you…I feel whole, for the first time in my life, I feel _whole_, I feel…_happy_. I'm not saying this now in case I don't get a chance to later, I'm saying this so that you'll know I'm coming back. But I have to go, and you can't come with me." I told him.

"I…I don't know that I can let you go." He said.

"We can't be together all the time, Prince. I think we both need to re-learn how to survive without one another, it may just make us appreciate each other all the more." I said, kissing him in an attempt to ease the pain of what I knew I was doing to him…and what I was doing to myself.

"Kaida…before you leave…I want to tell you…I'm going to stand down from the throne, and I'm going to give the crown to Keilic." He said.

I stared at him, my jaw dropping, okay, _what_ did he just say!?

I simply could, not, _believe_ what I just heard! This wasn't the Prince of Persia! This was some crazy messed up lunatic that has the real prince tied up somewhere and is inhabiting a cybernetic body that looks and feels exactly like him! I did _not_ just hear that, I did _not_ just hear that!

"W-what?! You, you can't be _serious_!!! Why!?" I exclaimed.

He kissed me passionately, answering me before he even spoke, telling me without words _exactly_ 'why'. "So that next time I ask you to marry me, I can do it without there being any catches, any ties, anything at all that would get in the way. You needn't have children, you needn't worry about how to be a queen, you needn't worry about anything whatsoever. We can live happily ever after, like in those children's tales. Or rather, we'll have a much easier time of pretending to live happily ever after, especially with that 'third party' to contend with."

The tears were falling freely down my face now, and I didn't know that they would ever stop.

He was willing to sacrifice everything he had, everything he loved, just give away something that meant _so much_ to him…for _me_. Why, _why_? I couldn't figure it out, what could he possibly see in me, what did I _possibly_ have that would make him love me _so much_? I couldn't understand it, I simply _couldn't_.

We had gone through so much together, and as the images of the past flashed across my mind, I tried to figure out when his feelings had gone from brotherly love to _this_. What had happened that I never noticed, that I never realized until it had already gone past, until the prince had already made up his mind that he was going to marry me? What had transpired that he would put up with hell itself just to be with _me_ forever? What had I done to deserve this? What had I done to earn his love? What did I do right? What, in the short space of about five months, had I _done_?

Would he have done this for Farah? Given up _everything_ just to be with her? No…not the prince that I thought I knew. But me? Why me? Why had it been me? If not for me…

If not for me he wouldn't even be _considering_ something this insane.

The prince kissed my tears and held me close, but they wouldn't go away. I felt so overwhelmed, I felt guilty, and selfish. Suddenly, all the reasons I'd had, all those facts that I had laid out before my own eyes, the purpose for refusing to be his wife, for insisting that he would find someone else…they just seemed like so much meaningless babble, not worth the pain, not worth the torment they were putting both of us through.

"Prince…I…I don't want you to give all of this up, just for me, you _can't_." I murmured.

"I will." He said, wiping my tears from my eyes. "Because I love you. You've been through so much, I just want to make you happy, I want to see you smile more, to laugh more. No, I don't _want_ to step down from my throne, but you're worth it, whether you believe that or not." He told me.

I wasn't, how could I be worth all of this pain? How could I _possibly_ be worth all that I'd been putting him through?

"You…you've done so much for me." I said, wrapping my arms around his neck. "I can't let you make such a sacrifice for me, I won't. So…so this time, _I'll_ make the sacrifice." I told him.

"What…are you saying?" He asked, breathlessly.

"I'm saying that when this is all over, I'll marry you, and I'll become the Queen of Babylon, for you." I said.

A look of disbelieving joy spread across his face as he stared at me, as though he had never seen anything quite like me. I smiled up at him through my tears, and we were about to kiss, but…

The prince's face contorted and he suddenly shouted, "SHUT UP!!!" And then his eyes widened and he looked down at me, spluttering his apologies, "I wasn't talking to you—it was—I mean, he wouldn't—"

"Ye _gods. _What a way to ruin the moment!" I exclaimed angrily, "You couldn't have _waited_!? Gees! Dark Prince, if you interrupt one of our sappy romantic moments like that again, I swear I'm going to tie you to a chair and subject you to several hours of bad EMO poetry which _Sullian_ wrote no less! And you will bleed out your _ears_, I promise you that!" I exclaimed, and the prince started chuckling.

"Oh well, I don't care what he does, I'm not going to let him ruin this." He said, and this time he _did_ kiss me. But he broke off, "NO THAT DOESN'T MEAN YOU CAN HAVE HER FIRST!!!" He yelled.

"I almost wish I could hear him so that it wouldn't feel so much like talking to a crazy person." I said, sighing.

_"You know, you still have a few hours before sunrise, you could convince her to stay for a little while and…celebrate."_ My eyes shot open as I heard what could only be the Dark Prince's voice, as though it had been speaking from far away, and was now suddenly right up next to me.

"What tha—" I exclaimed, breaking away from him.

"What?" He asked.

"I _heard_ him!" I exclaimed.

"You what?"

_"She's bluffing, she can't hear me."_ The Dark prince said.

"I just did!" I exclaimed, "What the crap!?"

**_"Well, you did say you wished you could hear him, so I took the liberty of making a connection."_** Sacrosanct said.

_"What tha—who are **you**?!"_ The Dark Prince exclaimed.

**_"Oh do forgive my manners. You see I don't have a body of my own so we've never met before. I am Sacrosanct, a pleasure to meet you Dark Prince."_** She said.

"Alright you two, bug off for a while so the prince and I can do bubbly fizzy stuff with at least _some_ pretense at privacy." I said.

_"Only if I can have a turn too!"_ The Dark Prince said mutinously.

**_"You sound like a child, you do realize that, don't you?"_**

_"Oh shut up!"_ He exclaimed.

**_"Hnhnhn, I'd watch that mouth of yours if I were you. Why don't we let the two of them have a little privacy now, hm?"_**

_"Ooooo, I'm **so** sca—hey what tha—what are you, how are you doing that!? Stop it!" _He exclaimed, and the next moment we could both sense his presence, not disappear, but fade into a sort of shadow, become less if you would.

"What did you do?" I asked Sacrosanct.

**_"Initially, I put him to sleep. You saw how I did it, Prince?"_** She asked.

"I—yes, yes I did." He answered, his eyes wide.

_"Good. Have fun you two."_ She said, and he presence faded as well. 

"I'm not entirely sure what just happened." I said, frowning.

"Me neither, but I'm past the point where I entirely care." He said, and the joyous smile was back on his face as, wordlessly, he lead me back over to his bed.

XD

I crafted my disguise out of sands, a dulled black outfit which slightly resembled that of a sand raider, only I was covered from head to toe, and the color variations consisted only of different shades of dark gray. I also made the cloth weather resistant, so that I wouldn't sweat myself to death in it during the day, nor freeze to death during the night.

I passed through the castle gates unnoticed, and went on through the city where the night owls paid me little heed. I thought I might look a bit like an assassin of some sort, but those who did see me didn't seem to care much, though I knew I was pretty intimidating. I had crafted the disguise for that purpose.

I wasn't tall, but I was tall enough that I was only half a head shorter than the prince, and that was a good enough size for a man. I had also discovered a new talent, I was able to actually change my vocal cords (with some of Aggle's help) in order to sound like a rather low and husky male voice without trying.

I didn't have any real plans for what to do about getting to India. I had never really needed to eat for some reason, I just did it so it wouldn't look so weird to the general public, and if I did it right, I could use my sands in order to transport the ring to and from the Manor, and transform inside this disguise. No one would notice unless they saw my eyes, and I would be much faster in running across the sands. I had maps, I could make it, and I might be able to ask for directions here and there.

I was just hoping I didn't run into any trouble, which was a false hope, I know, but one _can_ dream.

X

And so the second chapter of my life comes to a close, as a third opens up. The separation from my prince will be painful, but I'd survive. I had to save Farah, and there were some things that I needed to work out for myself.

You think the story is interesting so far? Just wait, as the page turns to the third chapter, you will know these revelations with me.

Zervan, was the _least_ of our problems.

The end?

(Not hardly)

XP

Prince: 0.0 SAY _WHAT_!?!?

Kaida: Yeah, I'm kind of wondering about this too. (Everyone turns to Rhea)

Rhea: (Has a thing of silly putty in her hand) This, this represents my plot! (Begins twisting it mercilessly) MUAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!

DP: Yeah, she's lost it.

Kioko: Oh she lost it a long time ago, trust me, I was there, I saw it happen.

DP: Forget this, I say _she_ does the FAQ herself!!!

Rhea: Heheheh, hey Dark Prince, how'd you like Sacrosanct?

DP: Uuuuuuuhhhh…

Sacrosanct: **_Hnhnhn, well Prince? Are you going to answer her?_**

DP: You freak'n put me to _sleep_! I'm not even sure how you _did_ that!

Sacrosanct: **_You were being annoying, it was the easiest way of shutting you up. Trust me, it could have been a lot worse for you. Perhaps from now on you'll curb that tongue of yours with me. I'm a demon prince, and you? You are simply the darkness of a human's soul manifested into a second half. You're out of your league, so be a good boy from now on, won't you?_**

DP: Yes _ma'am_. (Grinning in that evil-sexy way that he always does)

Kaida: Hey! _Excuse_ me, she's a _voice_ you idiot!!! You can't go lusting after a voice!

DP: Well, since she's actually _your_ voice…(Snakes arms around her middle from behind and resting his head on her shoulder to breath in her ear) I'll just have to stick with lusting after _you_. What's the matter, you jealous?

Prince: HEY!!! BACK OFF!!! I WAS HERE FIRST!!!

Kioko: Maybe we should get to the FAQ. Rhea, you get to do it.

Rhea: But what if I don't wanna?

Kioko: TOO BAD!!!

Q: Okay, just what the heck is Sacrosanct planning!?

A: To TAKE OVER THE WORLD!!! Using a combination of moldy cheese and gum disease.

Q: No, seriously, what is she planning?

A: Not telling.

Q: Why is Kaida leaving without the prince!?

A: Because I sort of wanted to get into the story a bit more in depth with her I guess. I don't know, it just sort of happened this way. She also needs to get out of her EMO slump and live a little. The first few chapters will, unfortunately, be without the prince or our favorite Dark Prince, but I'll work them into there somehow.

Q: If Zervan isn't the main bad guy, then who is?! Is it Sacrosanct?

A: Nope, not really. Sacrosanct's too obvious, don'tcha thing? The real baddie is someone else, but I'm not telling you who!

Q: How come Sacrosanct didn't want her leaving?

A: Because there's not enough moldy cheese for her to make use of in the road between Babylon and India.

Q: Why end this story there, why not just continue it?

A: Because the next part of this fic is going to have a bit of a different feel to it, it's a time when Kaida no longer has the prince to lean back on, and the prince no longer has her either. Absence makes the heart grow stronger after all!

Rhea: Well, that's all for now!!! Make sure you review and look out for Dark Dreams 3!!! (Haven't decided what to call it quite yet, but I'll think of something…Ideas? Suggestions?)


End file.
